A pension is compensation paid by an employer to an employee upon retirement. Pensions are not a general public benefit paid by the government, and thus, pension disputes are not required to pass through any administrative hearings and instead go directly to court. Unionized companies, large employers, and the government typically provide pensions for their workers. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a federal agency authorized by the U.S. Congress, provides insurance to workers whose employers are unable to redeem pension plans. Any senior who qualifies for SSI automatically qualifies for Medicaid.
Elder law is also concerned with protecting working seniors.
Originally enacted by Congress in 1967, the ADEA protects workers age forty and over from discrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, and conditions of employment. The purpose of the ADEA is to promote the employment of older persons, prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment, and encourage solutions to the problems associated with aging workers. Workers in a business with fewer than twenty employees are not protected. In case of discharge, a senior worker must gather information showing that the reason for the discharge was old age. A senior may also use statistics to try to prove a pattern of discrimination in hiring or firing.