Job fires beloved 70-year-old boss who has been at the company for 50 years without giving any severance: 'They gave people who worked here for 2 years severance in December, but not him.'

He could probably sue the company for age discrimination if he really wanted to.

There's a time in every person's career when they decide they're ready to retire. That could be at age 70, 60, 50, or even 35, depending on how much money you have in the bank. Just because you're mentally ready for retirement doesn't mean you can afford its financial burden just yet. The retirement age is rising because boomers are staying in the workforce as long as possible. Sometimes, it's because boomers are unwilling to let go of the power they've acquired in the workplace and hand off responsibility to the next generation. Other times, it's because they haven't saved enough for retirement.

It's not uncommon for older employees to be forced into early retirement. We all know an older relative or former coworker who was unceremoniously laid off a year or two before they planned to retire, when it's borderline impossible to get a new job because nobody will hire someone they think is close to retirement age. Of course, it's technically illegal to fire or refuse to hire someone solely because of their age, but it happens all the time. Companies can lie about why they fired or failed to hire someone, and if the older person doesn't have any proof that they were fired for being old, they are out of luck. If someone is about to retire anyway, you might as well keep them on for an extra year and allow them to leave with dignity.