Commercial banks have raised the mandatory retirement age of employees to 61, but not all sectors are keen to follow the move.
The decision was taken to help boost the retirement savings of bank employees in the B40 and M40 segemts.
National Union of Bank Employees general secretary J. Solomon said raising the retirement age from 60 to 61 was based on requests from bank workers, who do not have enough savings in their EPF or other source of income after retirement.
He said the policy had been included in the new Collective Agreement signed with the Malaysian Commercial Banks Association.
“The extension is optional and those who wish to retire at 60 may do so,” he said, adding, the extension would benefit the lower income workers such as the clerical staffers.
While, Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani, said it was not the right solution. “The fundamental issue is income. Low income is the main reason that many workers do not have sufficient Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to sustain their retirement.”
Mohd Effendy, who deemed the current EPF structure as outdated, has called for a restructuring of the fund to better protect the workers.
He was of the view that the current retirement age of 60 was appropriate and that some industries would hire the retired employees as contract staff.
The National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Fouzi Singon said it was not appropriate to increase the retirement age for teachers, whose work environment required climbing stairs to the top floor and a lot of active movements.
“It is also feared that teachers who often go on sick leave will affect the students’ learning process,” he told The Star, adding, if the government were to extend the retirement age to 65, new teachers might not be able to get a job due to fewer vacancies.
However, he felt that teachers, whose expertise are difficult to replace and have good health, could be considered to have their retirement extended.
The mandatory retirement age in Malaysia was raised from 55 to 60 in 2013.
