Kerala won't raise retirement age: Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Thursday said the government had no plans to raise the retirement age of government employees.


He said in the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's move to allow government employees to retire at the end of the fiscal year and not on the date they turned 55 did not benefit anyone.


'So we corrected that anomaly and extended the benefit to all employees to retire at 56,' Chandy said in the assembly.


On Wedneday, youths from various opposition parties launched a state-wide protest against raising the retirement age to 56.


On May 19, Finance Minister K.M. Mani decided to give the benefit of retirement to all employees by raising it to 56.


He said the government had no plans to raise the retirement age to 58.


Kerala is the only state where government employees retire at age 55 while its life expectancy is the highest in the country