Retirement Age – Reducing the retirement age from 60 to 58 years
Recently, an article in Financial Express, a popular daily in English, stated that the Central Government is serious about reducing the retirement age of Central Government Employees from 60 to 58 years. The news which some say is a rumour created panic among employees. It was indeed a shocking news for them as the previous government was planning to raise the retirement age to 62years.
Everyone knows that India is the second largest populated country in the world and the youth here are struggling to get employment. The article says that the government is taking this step to create employment to them. But can this reduction in retirement age solve the problem of unemployment….
In the year 1962, the central government raised the retirement age from 55years to 58 and in 1998, under the leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the government raised the retirement age from 58 to 60 years. The UPA government proposed to raise it from 60 to 62 years but it was dropped.
But going through reliable sources and agencies, there seems no indication of official discussions on this subject, neither from the government side nor from federations, unions or associations.
Let us hope that amicable solutions rather than reduction of retirement age be made to solve the unemployment problem and the government knows the financial difficulties faced by central government employees.