SRC Pushes For Retiremtent Age To Remain At 60
Days after parliament sought to lower the retirement age for all civil servant from 60 to 55, the Salaries and Remunerations Committee (SRC) chairperson Lyn Mengich has opined that the mandatory retirement age in Kenya should remain at 60.
She contended that reducing the retirement age would result in an increased pensionable liability for the nation, as more Kenyans would become eligible for pensions. Additionally, she argued that it would be impractical to let go of employees at a relatively young age, especially when they still possess valuable experience that enhances the Kenyan workforce.
“You need to look at what’s the common trend worldwide because that gives us a benchmark and of course, there are countries where there is no retirement age,” she said on Tuesday speaking to Spice FM.
“The conversation should be what works for Kenya. If you say people retire at 55 it means they are pensionable at 55 yet they are people who are still productive, they can contribute effectively to the country.”
This comes in response to a petition submitted to the court aiming to eliminate the retirement age in both public and private sectors. The petitioner, a resident of Nairobi, asserts that this requirement is illegal and disadvantages older Kenyans who wish to continue working beyond the specified age limit.
Read>>>TSC Reduces Teachers Retirement Age To 55, Asks Teachers To Get Ready For Retirement
At the moment, the law mandates retirement at 60 for most individuals and at 65 for those with disabilities. The petitioner argues that individuals should only be compelled to retire if they demonstrate a decline in performance or experience medical conditions that hinder their ability to work efficiently.
