Changes to retirement ages

THE PENSIONS (Public Service) Act 2017 came into effect on April 1, 2018. It is very important legislation with far-reaching consequences. As such, Legal Scoop has decided to sensitise readers on the implications of the act in a series of columns. In a previous column, we looked at how the implementation of the act would affect the normal retirement age and early retirement age for existing and new public officers.

In this column, we will focus on the options for normal retirement and early retirement during the transition period.

TRANSITION PERIOD

The transition period spans five years from the coming into effect of the act, that is, from April 2018 to April 2023. During that period, public servants appointed before April 1, 2018, and who are 55 years old and over may apply for early retirement or normal retirement on a phased basis, which is detailed below.

Public servants appointed after April 1, 2018, or appointed before April 1, 2018, but were under 55 years old on April 1, 2018, will not be eligible to take advantage of the option of retiring during the transition period.

NORMAL RETIREMENT

With the coming into effect of the act last year, the normal retirement age for public servants appointed after April 1, 2018 is now 65, up from 60. For public servants appointed before April 1, 2018, however, they may be granted ‘normal retirement’ if they attain the age set out in Column 2 of the table below in the month set out in Column 1.

EARLY RETIREMENT (SECTION 15)

With the coming into effect of the act in April last year, the age at which public servants appointed after April 1, 2018 may be granted early retirement has increased to 60. However, public servants appointed before April 1, 2018, who have attained the age set out in Column 3 of the table below in the month set out in Column 1, may be granted early retirement.

Because the first nine months of the transition period have already passed, the table below starts at January 2019.

It should be noted that provisions for early retirement and normal retirement outlined in this column do not apply to constables.