Employer and employee NGOs oppose raising of retirement age

GROUPS representing both employers and employees are against extending the retirement age, which is reportedly being considered by the government.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said extending the retirement age would merely treat the symptoms, not the disease.
He suggested the government follow Singapore's re-employment programme, whereby employers allow those who have reached the retirement age but still meet their job requirements to continue working.
He pointed out that Singapore's minimum retirement age is 62 years but under the new policy introduced in July this year, employees who turn 62 can continue to be employed for another five years in the organisation if they meet the eligibility criteria of re-employment.
"I don't agree (with the proposal) to extend the retirement age. But the government can look at Singapore's example, to allow those turning 60 (retirement age) but are still physically fit and productive to choose to make further contributions to their companies," he told Nanyang Siang Pau in a report published today.
He pointed out that the government had raised the retirement age from 55 to 60 years in 2013, but the move did not resolve the problem of retirees not having enough money to see them through their golden years.
Instead, he said, extending the retirement age had resulted in many graduates being shut out from the job market.
"Until today, some 200,000 young graduates are unable to get suitable employment."
Cuepacs is also not in favour of extending the retirement age, and suggested that the government should further raise the minimum wage to effectively address the problem of insufficient retirement funds for Malaysians.
"Cuepacs is of the view that low salaries, made worse by the high cost of living, is the main cause of the problem," he said, adding that 60 is the most appropriate age to retire.
Saying many retirees exhaust their EPF savings in just two years, he said it is therefore more practical to increase the minimum wage than to just extend the retirement age.