Reducing Retirement Age for central government employees from 1/1/2016 -The Right Way

The attention of all central government employees is on the 7th Pay commission which is going to be implemented on 1/1/2016. We come to hear that the meetings convened to know the demands of the employee federations of various departments have come to an end and in the month of August, the commission is going to submit its recommendations to the government.

When all this is happening on one side, there is an unknown sense of fear and unease in the minds of the central government employees. The reason for this is the thought that there might a change in the retirement age of employees. Will the retirement age be reduced? Nobody could stop this question from arising in the minds of employees. Even when the government has clearly announced that the retirement age will not be reduced, there is still doubt and confusion in the minds of the employees.

Nation’s economic growth; employment for youth and the increase of work efficiency in offices and factories thereby can happen but at the same time thousands of employee families will be very adversely affected.

In order to repay: the housing loan installment applied with the desire of owning a house, the loan arranged for children’s betterment, the money owed due to marriage expenses, the employees would have considered their service period as extending up to the age of 60. When the retirement age is suddenly reduced, the consequences appear unthinkably terrifying.

Everybody really accepts that graduated and unemployed youth should be given jobs. No doubt, in a country like ours which has lakhs of unemployed youth, a reduction of retirement age will be desirable.

Considering the future of India, a new pension scheme was introduced and is in force now for the employees who joined after 1/1/2004, like this for those who join employment after a certain date (for example, from 1.1.2016), the retirement age can be reduced from 60 to 58 or even to 56. Nobody will be affected due to this. Those who join service, will know their retirement age well before and so will make their future plans accordingly. Due to this method, there is no problem for the employees who are in service presently. Also, the new employees will not be affected. If the government has plans of reducing retirement age this can be a suitable solution.