SRC’s new rule regarding the retirement age for civil servants and teachers

SRC’s new rule regarding the retirement age for civil servants and teachers

The Salaries and Remunerations Commission (SRC) strongly opposes reducing the retirement age for teachers and civil personnel to 55 years. Currently, public employees and teachers retire at age sixty, while individuals with disabilities retire at age sixty-five.

Despite these established retirement ages, Parliament has received a legislative proposal aiming to lower the mandatory retirement age to 55 years old.

Proponents argue that decreasing the retirement age would provide young people with opportunities to advance their careers in the military. However, SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich argues for maintaining the retirement age at sixty, citing concerns about increased pension costs and the potential rise in the number of pension recipients.

Mengich urges proponents of the lower retirement age to consider global trends and mentions countries without retirement age limits as benchmarks. She highlights that individuals become eligible for a pension at age 55 in Kenya but emphasizes their continued productivity and contributions to the nation if they choose to retire at that age.

Moreover, Mengich asserts that workers with vast expertise benefit the Kenyan labor market, making it unreasonable to let them go at a young age. In contrast to this perspective, the Public Service Commission (Amendment) Bill of 2023 seeks to lower the retirement age to 55.

It’s noteworthy that the government previously adjusted the retirement age in 2009 from 55 to 60 years and extended it by five years for public sector employees. This decision was driven by the government’s efforts to address a significant pension debt resulting from an increasing number of retirees.

Benjamin Gathiru, MP for Embakasi Central, has presented a bill to amend the current Act, which includes provisions limiting the duration of acting positions to six months.

SRC’s new rule regarding the retirement age for civil servants and teachers