'No proposal to change retirement age of government employees,' Centre tells Lok Sabha

The government is not considering any proposal to change the retirement age of its employees, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply, Singh clarified that there is no policy to abolish vacancies created by the retirement of employees and dismissed speculation on any such move. “No proposal to change the retirement age of government employees is under consideration of the government.” 

When asked whether any government employees' union or organisations had demanded changes in the retirement age, Singh replied, “No formal proposal has been received from staff side of National Council (Joint Consultative Machinery).”

On the question of disparities in retirement age across central and state governments, Singh said the Centre does not maintain such data, as the matter falls under the State List. “No such data is centrally maintained in the government as the subject matter falls in the State List,” he noted.

His statement comes amid recurring speculation over possible changes to the retirement age in the public sector. 

The current retirement age for most central government employees is 60 years, while employees in certain sectors, such as teaching and scientific research, may have different retirement ages, extending up to 65 years. State governments, which set their own retirement policies, have varying retirement ages across departments.