How Can Companies Talk to Baby Boomers About Retirement

By Mary Leigh Pirtle

Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Mary Leigh Pirtle provided insight for an article outlining how companies should discuss retirement plans with their older employees. According to Mary Leigh, an annual review period would be an appropriate time to discuss an employee’s upcoming plans for retirement and any need for succession planning.

“Employers should pose questions to employees about retirement plans with the sole goal of understanding staffing needs for future workforce planning,” Mary Leigh explained. “This discussion should be general in nature, should not make reference to the employee’s age or ‘generational’ comments, and should promptly end if the employee indicates that retirement is not a consideration at that point.”

In terms of baby boomers training younger colleagues before announcing plans to leave, Mary Leigh points out that it may depend on the position in question and the company’s needs for proper succession planning. “For example, the company may determine that is best practice to have a ‘backup’ employee trained in key positions or roles with steep learning curves.” However, Mary Leigh said the goal behind these training efforts should be securing future workforce planning and should not be dependent on the age of the employees involved.

Exerpts From “Should Companies Talk to Baby Boomers About Retirement” by Terri Ballman

“Many employers require all upper level employees to have a succession plan in place in case of death or disability, so that might be a workaround if there is a real concern,” she says. “But that should be directed at all employees of a certain level, not just the older ones.”

Pirtle agrees that it may depend on the position in question and the company’s needs for proper succession training. “For example, the company may determine that is best practice to have a ‘backup’ employee trained in key positions or roles with steep learning curves,” she explains. However, the goal behind the training efforts should be securing future workforce planning, and Pirtle says this should not be dependent on the age of the employees involved.

In fact, Ballman advises companies to stop targeting older employees for layoffs or assuming they will retire at a particular age. “Don’t claim a position is being eliminated when it’s just being retitled or, worse, not being eliminated at all,” she says, and warns that these tactics will be used against you in an age discrimination case.

“If older employees are performing poorly, treat them the same as younger employees — with coaching and discipline.” Otherwise, treat them as you would any other employee.

The full article, “Should Companies Talk to Baby Boomers About Retirement,” was published by MultiBriefs on June 4, 2019, and is available online.