Mandatory retirement age

A mandatory retirement age is the age at which persons who hold certain jobs or offices are required by statute to step down, or retire.

Typically, mandatory retirement ages are justified by the argument that certain occupations are either too dangerous (military personnel) or require high levels of physical and mental skill (airline pilots). However, since the age at which retirement is mandated is often somewhat arbitrary and not based upon an actual physical evaluation of an individual person, many view the practice as a form of age discrimination, or ageism.