House approves bill lowering optional retirement age in gov't to 56

House approves bill lowering optional retirement age in gov't to 56

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, January 31, 2023.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill lowering the optional retirement age for government employees from 60 to 56 years old by a vote of 268 in favor, one against, and one abstention.

The proposed law, according to Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, allows the more than one million employees in the bureaucracy the option of retiring early.

Even before they reach senior citizen status, he continued, people can choose to stop working, start receiving their benefits, engage in other activities, and enjoy life in retirement with their loved ones.

He claimed that early retirement will improve the wellbeing of many workers. Without the stress of job, he continued, "Life is undoubtedly more enjoyable."

13 related bills have been consolidated into House Bill No. 206. Specifically, it amends Section 13-A of Republic Act 8291, also known as The Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997, to lower the mandatory retirement age for government employees from sixty to 56 years old.

According to the proposal, a government employee who is also a GSIS member is eligible for retirement benefits if he or she is at least 56 years old at the time of retirement, has worked for the government for at least 15 years, and is not already receiving a monthly pension for total and permanent disability.

A retiring member has two options under RA 8291: cash equivalent to 18 months, with the payment of his pension taking effect immediately, or a lump sum of benefits for five years, with his monthly pension to be paid after five years.

The combined bill's authors claimed that by setting the optional retirement age for the rest of the government workforce at 56 years old, they would bring them into line with the police and military, whose mandatory retirement age is 56.

Since the average lifespan of Filipinos is lower than that of other nationalities, they claimed, more sleep is necessary for longer life.

They argued that there ought to be a contented balance between working and retiring.

Since public school teachers make up the single largest sector of the bureaucracy, some of the proposals integrated into Bill No. 206 tried to limit the application of the lower optional retirement to just them.

Teachers are among the most diligent public servants, according to supporters of these measures, and their line of work entails risks, long hours, and a lot of stress.

In discussions they had with them, they claimed that one of the requests from public school teachers was early retirement.

House Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" M. Dalipe and Representatives France L. Castro, Arlene D. Brosas, Raoul Danniel A. Manuel, Maria Carmen S. Zamora, Marlyn L. Primicias-Agabas, Joseph Stephen "Caraps" S. Paduano, Christopherson "Coco" M. Yap, Lorna C. Silverio, Edwin L. Olivarez, Reynante U There are several people named Anthony G. Horibata, Nicolas VIII C. Enciso, Edsel A. Galeos, Robert Raymund M. Estrella, Bonifacio L. Bosita, Steve Chiongbian Solon, Teodorico T. Haresco Jr., Irwin C. Tieng, Christian Tell A. Yap, Rosanna "Ria" V. Vergara, Rodolfo "Ompong" M. Or (END)

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2 comments

Unknown said...

is this for real...if it is when is its effectivity... i will retire soon. to enjoy the remaining strength i have after being in the field for 35 years. Thank you..

Unknown said...

I hope it will be implemented immediately.Let's pray for it.