New amendment increases retirement age for teachers to 70

With the cost of pensions continuously on the rise, public servants, university lecturers and teachers now have the choice to work until the age of 70.

The change was introduced via two new amendments to the Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Bill. Under the current bill, public servants are required to retire at the age of 65; resulting in a spike of pension payouts and staff shortages which are affecting the public sector, particularly with education providers.

According to the government, the two amendments were needed (particularly in schools and universities) to limit disruption in classes and provide continuity in the academic year, as some pension schemes state that teachers are not required to retire until the end of the school year in which they reach the required age for retirement.

The second amendment to the bill deals explicitly with the Central Bank and now excludes it from the terms of the bill (as the bank has its own independence in setting pay and general conditions for staff members).

Any members of the workforce affected will still have the choice to retire early and the measures only affect those who work in the public sector. Government officials believe the cost of pensions will drastically decrease and expect the ongoing issue of staff shortages to cease.

University and teacher groups have not commented on the changes and it is unclear if they will accept the possibility of working an additional five years.