Sibanye decision to scrap retirement age puts focus on relevance of exec age limits

Mining company Sibanye Stillwater has announced that it is scrapping the mandatory retirement age in place for its non-executive directors.

All directors will now be subject to annual "fit, proper and capability" assessments, which it says are consistent with good corporate governance and the JSE listings requirements.

The Standard Bank Group also announced in July 2025 that it was raising the retirement age for its executives.

These developments refocus the attention on whether the concept of having to retire at a specific age is still relevant in any way.

One group may say older execs should be clearing the way for young talent, while another believes years of valuable experience should not simply be tossed aside.

Stephen Grootes chats to Andrew Woodburn, MD of executive search firm Amrop Woodburn Mann.

As Woodburn points out, this issue affects all of us, not just particular age groups.

"Whether you're a youngster climbing the ladder, whether you're in the middle of your career delivering great results, or whether in some cases you're 'an old bull' leading from the front and utilising your deep experience to contribute to the organisation."

While there are pros and cons to extending the "retirement" age, there certainly is a trend globally to keep talent on for longer, he says.

"I'm OK with that because I think in the modern era it's about the comparison of delivery of results against mandate, and in fact the age element is becoming less of a material thought process, although you can go and look at the big accounting firms who in many cases are very strict about leaving at 60."

"There is no right or wrong answer to this but we're absolutely seeing a trend towards keeping great leadership and talent longer, provided of course that it meets the criteria that the particular institution and either board or executive committee meets."

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the conversation around this increasingly important issue