Mandatory Retirement: What an Employer Can Require, and at What Age
Between the ages of 67 and 69, employees retain control over when they retire; starting at age 70, the employer has sole discretion. For senior executives, these rules influence the timing of retirement and the decision between continuing to work and cashing out their benefits.
An employer may wish to have an older employee leave the company, even if the employee has not planned to do so. The law strictly regulates this mandatory retirement, using age as the primary criterion. Between the ages of 67 and 69, the employee’s consent remains essential. The employer must ask the employee in writing about their intention to voluntarily leave the company at least three months before their 67th birthday. The employee then has one month to respond. If they agree, their departure date will be set after a notice period equivalent to that required for a termination; the Service-public website offers a calculator to determine this.
The employer is not required to follow any specific procedure to notify the employee of the decision, unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. If the employee refuses, the employer cannot force the issue, but may renew the request each year, up to and including the age of 69. This window of a few years gives the employee time to plan their transition, compare different retirement scenarios, and avoid making a rushed decision. For an executive whose income and assets depend in part on these final quarters of employment, the stakes go beyond the mere question of timing.
The Age Slider
Starting at age 70, the balance shifts. The employer may require retirement without any specific procedure, unless there is a collective agreement or the employee has protected status. The notice requirements remain the same as for those aged 67–69. Sending a registered letter with return receipt is still recommended, even when not required by law, to confirm the departure date and prevent any future disputes. Several safeguards govern this authority.
When the age requirements are not met, retirement is reclassified as termination for personal reasons, with the associated compensation and remedies. No collective bargaining agreement may provide for mandatory retirement before age 67, and so-called “cut-off” clauses—which provide for automatic termination at a specified age—remain prohibited. However, it is possible to establish, through a collective bargaining agreement or an employment contract, an age requirement higher than that required by law, which may benefit an employee wishing to continue working.
Since October 2025, one change warrants attention: mandatory retirement is now possible for an employee who had already reached the age for full benefits at the time of hire—a situation that did not exist previously and alters the circumstances for workers hired later in life, particularly executives who continue working after initially claiming their benefits.
An Employee’s Leeway
Employees retain useful tools for a wealth management strategy. The employer cannot directly access the career record from Carsat: it must request it from the employee, who therefore retains control over this information and when to disclose it. For an executive whose compensation remains high toward the end of their career, extending their employment by a few quarters can increase the pension amount or qualify them for a pension bonus, provided they assess the actual impact on their net after-tax income, since additional income may also push them into a higher tax bracket.
Employee representatives are subject to a specific procedure—including an interview, an opinion from the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), and authorization from the labor inspectorate—which protects their term of office. As for retirement between the ages of 60 and 65, such cases remain limited to specific circumstances provided for by law. Before responding to a proposal from the employer, it is advisable to consider several factors: the expected pension amount, the tax treatment of end-of-career lump-sum payments, the possibility of combining employment with retirement, and the option of a negotiated termination agreement, which is subject to different tax and social security rules than retirement.
The decision is rarely based solely on age; it is part of a broader view of future income, estate planning, and wealth, which a retirement advisor or wealth manager can help model before the due date.
