Retirement Age

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Experience comes with age and that wisdom too is very much related to the number of years in one's life. That has always been the advice from wise men who believe that to climb the ladder of success, you need to have a number of working experience under your belt. The more years you toil in your career, the more experience, knowledge and skills that you would have acquired. The government had previously extended the retirement age of the public sectors in the early 2000 from 55 years to 58 years according to the appointment hierarchy. Thus, it is not a surprise that the government had again proposed to extend the retirement age from 58 years to 60 years to the civil servants recently. In any nation, the move by the government to extend or increase the retirement age will always be received with mixed reactions from the public. This is because it will have some ramifications in other related issues or sectors that will have an impact on the majority of the people.

At present, the suggestion to extend the retirement age only affects the public sector from 55 years to 58 years and now to extend it to a further two more years to retire at 60. Whereas, the private sector's retirement age is still maintained at 55 years but there were also calls to the government to increase the age factor to 60 years as aligned with the public servants. This suggestion to extend the retirement age needs an in depth study about the feasibility of raising the age limit because it is widely believed that raising or extending the age factor does not apply to all sectors. Thus, it requires a critical analysis to come to an amicable solution that will be accepted by all.

1.1 AIM

The aim of this intellectual discourse is to provide a critical analysis on the proposed extension of the retirement age in the private sector.

1.2 SCOPE

The scope of this paper presentation will cover the following topics as follows:

a. Interpretation of the Retirement Age.

b. Factors that Encourage the Extension of Retirement Age.

c. Advantages of Raising the Retirement Age.

d. Disadvantages of Raising the Retirement Age.

e. Analysis and Benefits.

f. Conclusion.

g. Recommendation.

2.0 INTERPRETATION OF THE RETIREMENT AGE

In Malaysia, the Human Resources Ministry had maintained that the workforce will have to abide to the Employment Act 1955 which regulates the employment of an