4. Early Retirement
Another shady way companies eliminate older workers is by providing a package of incentives to take early retirement. In fact, some senior employees may find these packages too tempting and good to say no to them. Therefore, if your employer comes up to you with one, consider it carefully.
If you decide to refuse it, remember that the company can still fire you at will. However, if your employer only gets rid of older folks, you may have an age discrimination claim. Also, if early retirement is involuntary, such as when the only option available is being fired, there’s probably a violation of age discrimination laws.
5. Threatening Your Pension
Unfortunately, this one is pretty common. The situation would look something like this: the company brings threats into play, stating to the worker that if they don’t retire right away, it would look for methods to go after that employee’s pension.
This can sound very scary, but the threat is often a hollow one. First of all, nowadays, pensions no longer exist (they were lump sums paid out monthly). Most people now have 401(k)s or other retirement savings plans that your employer has no access to.
Still, if you’re being threatened, you may want to consider talking to an employment lawyer who handles claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act—the law governing employee pension plans.
