18 Aug, 2013 06:56 PM

Media Report : No plans to hike the retirement age

There is speculation that the Centre may raise the retirement age of the central government employees, but top sources say there is no such move. The media reports were suggesting that the PM may announce the retirement age hike during the independence day speech (Read : Proposal to hike retirement age to 62 at Cabinet. Announcement expected at PM's August 15 address )

However reliable source in the government said "There is no such plan to raise the retirement age to 62 from 60 years,".

There are about 50 lakh central government employees working in various departments including the Railways across the country.

Recent media reports had claimed that the Ministry of Personnel was working on a proposal to increase the age of service by two years as part of government's plan to defer payouts in the form of pensions and other payments to check fiscal deficit.

It was also speculated that the move may be timed ahead of Lok Sabha elections as a populist move. But this may have a negative impact among new / young voters.

Sources in the Ministry said raising retirement age requires a detailed consultation with all concerned parties and discussion with the Finance Ministry. Without the Finance Ministry's nod, the matter cannot be processed, they said.

The retirement age for a majority of central government employees is 60 years. However, the age for retirement in case of teachers and scientists is 62 years.

In a related development, Chhattisgarh government has recently increased the age of retirement to 62 years from 60 for its employees.

The age of superannuation varies in state governments with majority of them keeping it at 60 years.

In twas in 1998 that the Centre had raised the retirement age of central government employees to 60 from 58 years.

Source : Economic Times