Retirement age of civil servants and teachers will not be subjected to extension but instead be subject to reduction since this is a matter that has been generating a lot of debate over the years.
Following the evidently growing unemployed population, several people including the law makers have launched a push for its reduction to create more employment opportunities for young people who are jobless.
With those who are serving under Public Service of Commission and in teaching profession,the government came out clear in late 2020 giving a clarification that there will no longer be an extension of the mandatory retirement age.
The commission indicated that civil servants and teachers will retire at 60 and 65 for people that have different abilities.
The above directive took effect on January 2021, targeting obsolete staff in the ministries, various departments and state corporations.
The official retirement age for civil servants is now confirmed, meaning the possibility of extension is eliminated.
However, going forward the government’s back and forth might bring about other alterations in future regulation since for instance,the above age of retirement seems not to have been received lightly following a series of proposals channel in parliament.
The several proposals are seeking to have the age reduced to 55 years from 60 years.
However,even with this age limit, there are those who may wish to retire from service before the age bracket are are required to apply in writing early via the head of the institution and give three months notice.
For various reasons , the government allows such workers to seek for earlier retirement however with some conditions that are set inorder one to get the retirement benefits.
Female teacher guiding learners through a learning area in class ;Image/Courtesy
Note that retirement age is not determined by an employer but by an Act of Parliament.
Earlier retirement has quite a number of benefits among them leaving the service while strong so that you can plan well on other individual programs.
It also enables one to have good enough good time to enjoy family company and also one can seek other positions that may seek their attention.
In what seems to be a challenge to many is that sometimes there are delays in releasing pension funds, something that must be addressed with seriousness to protect retirees from suffering outside service.
The retirement age can be pegged at 60years with an option of early/voluntary retirement from 55year
So why no retirement age for politicians? Employment for life!
The government should find better ways of creating employment opportunities. Reducing retirement age of civil servants and teachers to 55 or what would not solve the problem of unemployment. And more so, the government is not the only employer. And if that is a must, then even the MPs themselves should retire at 55, the doctors the same and so on.
If all entitlements can be paid at the point of exit, there’s nothing wrong. Let the Government do the needful.
Just give the old guys their money, please. They earned it. What do you want to do with it? Where will it go if they fail to follow your regulations?
The government is so unfair to educators is this happening with immediate effect ?Are they going to give them their full pension as they planned to retire at 65,yes very true it must start with them most of them are way over 60 and still working besides why target teachers only
This is a clear indication that our government has run out of plans to address unemployment. Millions of South Africans are already dependent on Social grants and reduction of retirement age means more people queuing at SASSA offices. To put it differently, reduction will not create job opportunities but dependency.
I don’t think this is a fair decision.Some of us the government used us for 10 years, working in Gr R as practitioners.No benefits,no nothing for that decade.i was hired permanently in 2022 at the age of 46 n I’m allowed to work only 9years n leave.
How am I going to survive Gov should create jobs not by punishing teachers
Please compensate the Gr R practitioners who served the government freely with less payments for 10 years n more
You took advantage on us women n to this day you still turned a blind eye to the fact that government under paid us with no single benefits even maternity benefits.N now we are forced out, for the problem which we did not course.
The river which flows should flow for all of us
This should be applicable to everyone as even the Parliamentarians are civil Servants. Why are they in Parliament whilst retirement age is 65 years. These people are no longer effective.
The proposal should indicate that this is effective for people employed as from 2024 /25 as people have to be made aware of this and adjust their plans accordingly.
I wonder what kind of journalism is this. Bearing in mind that people read posts from different parts of the world, how can you put up a write up like this from beginning to the end without specifying the country or region where this subject matter applies. So shameful, you can do better.
I would retire when i get @50. Please pay retirement and pay it well. We want to give room to young youths to work.
What difference is created by unemploying one and employing one?. What’s the retirement age in developed countries? Shallow thinking is going to be our undoing!!!
Teachers will always be a target as they have never been regarded as anything by South Africans. When it comes to salary, it worsen yearly.
More nonsensical decisions and that is why this country is such a mess. The government failed to meet its responsibilities through continuous mismanagement and bad decisions. This will place a huge burden on the social grants that is already overburdened.
Planning in this country is a serious challenge…
Some civil servants and teachers have committed mortgages and loans with the projection of when they expect to retire…
For those with SACCO loans,age mates are guarantors of one another.
A sudden shift would shake the stability of these workers who have diligently served government…
If teachers have to retire with that age, let all retire at that age including people in the parliament that are working until they die even if there’s no progress, they are too old to do their work. You will find teachers who are working over 60 who still mamaged to do their work but they are chased out of the education department,let it be the same with everyone because we get old the same way, if you are working in the department you are able to speak after 60 years,as a teacher I’m also able to speak. The parliament workers must also have retirement please,we want young workers who will be able to use their fresh mind to put south Africa in map. This will also give people From 35 to get jobs. Please stop this thing of allowing people under 35 to get jobs. Where must 36 to 54 years People get the job. It’s very unfair to people who were struggling to get jobs up to 36 years. Please change that parliament, can’t you see this kills education and encouragement of people who still want to be educated because there are those who are educated but not getting jobs because they are now 36years,no one sees this from the parliament, it’s killing South Africans.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL TO SOUTH AFRICANS – CONSIDER AGE 36 UPWARDS, PARLIAMENT RETIREMENT – YOU CAN’T WORK UNTIL YOU DIE,NO WAYS. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!
To me it is better to retire when you will be useful to your self, look for something to do when you are working save for the raining day. It is good to retire at 55 depending on when you are employed but the maximum age should be 60 years. Don’t wait till when you are no longer relevant. Some retired and died, let us retire when people will celebrate you. Don’t wait until you are ask to do so.
About the Sasa of R350,let those people do something eg must help to clean important places in south Africa or fix portholes in the locations.
Our taxes are just going down the drain,just like that because others are just using the money to drink alcohol,but if they are working on something they will respect the money.
Let the workers get increament please as they will retire soon, let there be increament, everything is gone up,we are suffering and then you talk about retirement, increament will make us save for ourselves to prepare for retirement. PLEASE CONSIDER TEACHERS, THEY ARE WORKING HARD MORE THAN ANY WORKER IN THE WORLD.
This has been long over due given the people’s life expectance in Zimbabwe. The government should cut the number of years one should serve in government so that we give young people a chance to live their lives. Zimbabwe has one of the lowest life expectancy in the world with the average life expectancy at birth being 60.7 years, 57.5 years for males and 63.6 years for females. So why would we talk of 65 years as retirement age? Let’s be realistic and reduce the retirement age to 60 or 55.
The government does not pay retirees, most of them are told to keep waiting and so it becomes a nuisances.Most of the money has been swindled
The government should be advised to pay retirees immediately, they would be more than willing to go . That corruption that exists in that pension scheme is hurting retirees, let them correct it with immediate effect
Don’t punish the innocent. Reduced retirement age should not be enforced. I support 60 years to exit with 55 years one of many options. Graduates get employed around 30 years old, they buy a house around 40. Bond repayments take 25 years. 55 years retiment does not balance the equation.
Politicians must also feel the punch. Let the fat cats go,bif this is enforced.
This is not fair why does the government keep people tarmacking for more than ten years then reduce the retirement age? They are supposed to consider the period one has worked with the said government. Where do you want us to go with 55 years in fact you should make it 70 instead .
This early retirement age should be applied to all employees paid by the state ; including mps , presidents and so forth, then it’s a fair decision.
Mandatory retirement age should be 60 and voluntary with Golden handshake should be 55.
I partially support the proposal of retirement at 55 years (optional) and 60 years (compulsory), however, Grade R practitioners must be excluded from this notion. This should not be directed to teachers only, but to all sectors, including parliamentarians.
Reduce it to five years contract based on work performance
I partially support this proposal of early retirement (55 years) and compulsory retirement (60 yes), however, this should exclude Grade R practitioners, who had been teaching for years without benefits. This should not be confined to teachers only, other sectors, such as parliamentarians should be included.
What about teachers and servants that were employed few years back and they are about to reach 55 years, they have to come up with another plan 65 years is fine if people want to retire at that age why changing now?
Tsc should process retirement benefits with fairness.Waiting for benefits for a year,two, even three years
Yet others who have people to push for them receive benefits within months!!!
WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS???????????
All the politicians at the Age of 55years and above should first be retired before bringing it to the Civil servant and teachers, the practice of early retirement will only create beggars on the street and it won’t create employment, Government should create industries and go into high level Production to solve the problem of unemployment. Don’t distabilize the existing Age system.
If the government is serious about creating employment for the youth, they have to start by approving the applications for people who have been sick for years waiting ,some have died waiting for the approval of ill health benefits and most of them are over the age of 55 years .
Let them cut off the CEO’s, COO’s, CFO’s, etc. in all government departments.So many in parliament should also go for retirement. And why the teachers? Is teaching a scarce skill which our country need most.
Retirement age should be 55 to provide an opportunity for unemployed youth to be engaged
What if the courts declare retirement as infringement on the rights of those being retired. The constitution clearly says that nobody should be discriminated against based on color age or tribe, as such retiring people at 60 years and they are able to work amounts to an infringement on their right to work. Unless you change the clause in the constitution.