Passage of bill lowering gov’t retirement age to 56 lauded

Rep. Antonio Tinio of the Act Teachers party-list. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

ACT Teachers Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro on Thursday lauded the panel-level approval of the bill proposing the lowering of the optional retirement age of government employees from 60 years old to 56.

The House committee on government enterprises and privatization approved on Wednesday the still-unnumbered bill, principally-authored by Tinio and Castro, which seeks to amend Republic Act 8291 or the GSIS Act of 1997.

“These civil servants dedicate twenty, thirty years of their lives in the service of the nation. It is high time that the government heed their clamor for the option to retire at an earlier age in order for them to enjoy their retirement benefits for as long as possible,” Tinio said in a statement.

Castro meanwhile pointed out that public school teachers have consistently raised their demand to be given the choice to retire earlier during formal and informal consultations nationwide.

“It is imperative that Congress listen to these government workers who have devoted their lives to honing the minds and nurturing the hearts of our youth, in spite of receiving meager salaries, working in underfunded schools and doing additional, usually unpaid, miscellaneous tasks,” she added.

The lawmakers stressed that the measure would not be detrimental to the state workforce as most government employees prefer to stay in service for a long time even working up to 65 years old, the mandatory retirement age.

“While the 65 years old mandatory retirement age remains, government employees should be given the freedom to retire earlier, especially those who are suffering from ailments and are in need of intensive medical attention,” they stressed.

The bill will then be scheduled for plenary debates following its approval at the committee level. /cbb