According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers can distinguish between retiree health benefits for people below age 65 and above age 65.  In fact, the EEOC says employers don’t have to provide retiree health benefits at all to individuals above age 65 who are eligible for Medicare.  Check out an article in today’s Times.

The EEOC’s press release puts a spin on its ruling to the effect that it’s necessary to save retiree health benefits.  In other words, if the EEOC doesn’t give this “relief” to employers, employers would probably do away with retiree health benefits altogether.  As you’ll notice in the Times article, the AARP disagrees with the EEOC.  Presumably, litigation over this issue is just around the corner.

Is this part of beginning to realize that the boomers are going to have such an impact on the workplace over the next couple of decades that reality has to take precedence over age discrimination? (See my post of November 25 titled “Age Discrimination–My Opinion.”)  It’s going to be interesting to see what else happens as government agencies, the courts, employers, and boomers deal with workplace realities for the next 20 years.