Circular issued extending retirement age of Government employees to 65

The Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government has issued a circular extending the compulsory retirement age of government employees to 65 years today (January 06) with effect from January 01, 2022.

Secretary, J. J. Ratnasiri said that accordingly, the retirement age of public servants will be extended to 65. However, this will not apply to those serving in the armed forces.

Delivering his Budget Speech in November last year, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa announced that the government plans to extend the retirement age of state sector employees to 65 years.

The minister had noted that the average life expectancy has increased and that the ageing population of the country is on the rise.

As they are also able to engage in active service for a longer period of time, it is essential to make use of their experiences and maturity, he added, proposing to extend the age limit for public servants’ pension.

However, the Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association previously opposed the extending of the retirement age of public servants to 65.

The association said in a letter to the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Services and Provincial Councils that the retirement age should be 62 instead.