Some experts can continue working until 70, says Cabinet
Civil servants working in areas at risk of personnel shortages are to be allowed to postpone their retirements until the age of 70, says Government House.
The idea was to curb shortages of personnel in key areas and to support the country’s upcoming “fully-fledged ageing society” status, said a source.
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle an amendment to an Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) regulation that usually requires employees to retire at 60.
A first-stage extension would allow the officials in question to continue working for an extra four years and a second extension for a further three years. The maximum extension period must not exceed 10 years or allow for people over 70 to still be working, according to the OCSC’s proposal.
The Cabinet gave its approval in principle to the amendment, meaning it might require further changes and a final approval before being implemented.
It also ordered that the amendment only apply to those fields at risk of personnel shortages and must be academic experts of Level 9-10 or be in the “senior” “special skill” officials who have served in those rare fields for at least one year.
The positions the over-60s are allowed to work in could be their old jobs or other existing positions – but their new work cannot be in new jobs that have just specially created for them, the cabinet stipulated.
