Kerala Mulls Boosting Retirement Age to 57

Thiruvananthapuram : The Kerala government is considering raising the retirement age of government employees from 56 to 57 years, according to sources. An announcement is expected during the state budget presentation in February 2025, which will be delivered by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal.

This move comes after a committee study revealed that increasing the retirement age by one year could save the state government over Rs 5,000 crores. The savings would result from redirecting funds currently allocated for retirement benefits, including gratuity and end-of-service benefits, towards capital spending.

In India, only Kerala lets government employees retire at 56. The decision to increase the retirement age from 55 to 56 was made during the previous Oommen Chandy government (2011-16) in an effort to standardize retirement ages across various sectors.

The proposed change, if implemented, could be a significant move to appease government employees who are currently dissatisfied with the Vijayan government's handling of the Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears issue. The outstanding DA arrears currently stand at around 19%.

With local body polls approaching in the latter half of 2025 and the Assembly elections scheduled for April 2026, the decision is being viewed as a strategic move by the ruling CPI-M government.

(Source- IANS)