Workforce age discrimination and what it means for your super

In the old days, staying in a full-time job until you retired was the norm, but in the brave new world of employment working full-time until you’re age 65 – or even 60 – is becoming much more of a challenge.

More and more employers seem unwilling to retain or hire older employees. Many workers are finding staying in paid employment once you’re in your sixties is a big ask, despite discriminating against someone on the basis of age being illegal.

If you lose your job in your 50s, you could find yourself living up to another 30 or 40 years without paid employment. This can leave you facing a scary financial chasm if your career ends unexpectedly.

The situation is made more challenging as most people can’t access their super tax free until age 60 and eligibility for government financial support through the Age Pension is now set at age 67.

What is age discrimination?

Age discrimination in the workplace is unlawful and occurs if a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their age. According to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), examples of age discrimination include:

• Not considering an older applicant for a job because it’s assumed they aren’t as up to date with technology as a younger person
• Not offering training opportunities at work to an older employee as it’s assumed they will retire soon
• Requiring an older person to meet a physical fitness test for a job where their physical fitness has nothing to do with their ability to perform the essential duties of the job
• Targeting older employees for redundancies.

An AHRC survey in 2021 of 2,440 Aussies ranging from young adults to older people found 90% of respondents believe ageism exists and that it’s directed at people across all three adult age groups (young, middle-age and older).