Why MPs Want Retirement Age Reduced to 55 Years
To provide young people a chance to work in the public sector, a parliamentary committee is exploring raising the obligatory retirement age from the current 60 years to 55.
The National Assembly’s Labour committee announced on Thursday, August 3, that it would offer an amendment to the Public Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that would set the retirement age at 55.
Benjamin Gathiru, the MP for Embakasi Central, is the sponsor of a bill that would change the present Act by stating that no officer should serve in an acting capacity for more than six months.
Fabian Muli, a member of parliament for Kangundo, stated that if the committee wants to represent the interests of the youth, it should suggest additional changes to the Bill that would lower the retirement age.
To inspire pride in the young people of this nation, Mr. Muli added, “We need to think further and lower the age to 55.”
He stated that if the committee didn’t take the age reduction amendment into consideration, he would personally submit the change.
The committee needs to change the essential legal requirements regarding the retirement age, according to Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga.
In order to change those laws, we need to understand how the 60-year retirement age was determined, according to Mr. Chonga.
While endorsing the lowering of the retirement age, Lunga Lunga MP Mangale Munga stated that there is a need to accommodate the growth of young people.
Why sixty years? In order to provide room for the young people, it should be raised to 55 years old. That is a suggestion; whether it is accepted or rejected depends on personal opinion, Mr. Munga remarked.
I have allowed the committee to make changes to the Bill, but we shouldn’t lose sight of its purpose or objective, Mr. Gathiru remarked.
If the measures are approved, the bulk of federal officials who are slated to retire in the next five years would do so sooner. This will have significant effects, including adding financial pressure to a government that is already having trouble meeting its obligations through a higher pension payment.
In 2009, the required retirement age was raised from 55 to 60 years old as a result of the government’s struggles to pay for escalating pension costs.
In the six months leading up to December 2021, the National Treasury disbursed Sh69.22 billion in pension and gratuities.
According to a 2016 audit, 35% of national government employees were between the ages of 51 and 60.
3,958 officers altogether left the service during the Financial Year 2021–2022, according to the Public Service Commission (PSC) annual report for 47 ministries, departments, and organisations.
According to the Public Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, a person may be appointed in an acting capacity for up to six months, but no longer than 30 days.
The proposed legislation states that an individual can only be nominated to occupy a public office in an acting capacity once they have fulfilled all requirements for that specific officer.
“An acting appointment shall be in favour of a public officer who is duly qualified and competent to perform the duty and not undermine the expeditious appointment or deployment of a competent person to the public office concerned,” the Bill states.
If someone is appointed in an acting role without having the necessary credentials, the Public Service Commission will promptly cancel such appointment.
Why MPs Want Retirement Age Reduced to 55 Years
