Retiring government workers

Just recently, a lawmaker proposed that Congress pass a bill lowering to 55 from 65 years old the compulsory retirement age of government workers. In House Bill 3202, North Cotabato Rep. Bernardo F. Piñol Jr. also proposed the lowering of their optional retirement age to 50 from 60. Through his proposal, the lawmaker claims he wants to create opportunities for younger generations as he “give[s] agility and idealism to government service,” while increasing the “economic value” of government retirees.

It is uncertain how the lawmaker came to those conclusions, but it is assumed that his proposal was the result of extensive study. After all, Congress takes its work seriously, and all bills proposed for legislation go through rigorous and exhaustive research. However, his bill doesn’t seem practical and realistic, given that agility and idealism are not just for and by the young, while attaining higher economic value is a goal for everybody and not just for the old.

The simple truth, the lawmaker pointed out, is that when government workers retire, they could no longer enjoy their benefits because would either be too old or too sick due to old age. Thus, most of their retirement benefits would just pay for their medical bills. But this can be avoided by allowing state workers to retire earlier. They can even work in the private sector for up to 10 years, or put up business, he added.

Even Civil Service Commission Director Ariel G. Ronquillo, in a news report, offered an explanation for supporting the measure: “Younger workers are really more productive. . . . Younger generations are also more equipped in adapting to the rapid development of a nation as compared to the older generation.”

Unsurprisingly, however, the state-run pension fund for government workers is worried by it. The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), through its senior vice president Enriqueta P. Disuanco, was quoted in a news report as saying, “That proposal is in contrast with the world trend of an aging population. We have denied proposals seeking to lower the retirement age because it will really be a heavy burden for us.”

She noted that if retirement age would be lowered to 55, then GSIS would have to carry the burden of paying an additional 10 years of benefits, she said. Based on GSIS data, pensioners are currently paid over a 13- to 17-year period, and that on average, 23,000 state employees retire every year, she added. And considering that the monthly GSIS pension is P7, 000, she said, “if the measure is passed, we’ll be losing billions in pesos, considering that we provide benefits not only until the retiree dies but as long as his or her beneficiaries are living.”

To date, there are varying retirement ages for various government offices—56 for police and military officers, 70 for judges and justices, 65 for most government workers, etc. But lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries and other elected or appointed officials can stay in office practically until voluntary retirement or death. Obviously, there are such variances because present standards for retirement ages operate under varying logic, and were not set arbitrarily. For instance, it is easy enough to realize why police and military officers retire younger than Supreme Court justices, or why the fire- protection bureau may hesitate to sign on a 68-year-old fireman.

The Piñol proposal, while worthy of consideration, seems to forget the most basic of realities in a developing country—that the government is always the biggest employer. And obviously, the main target of his proposal is the bureaucracy tasked with the daily grind: the rank and file and supervisors in government offices. It is highly doubtful if his bill will likewise encompass other workers in government such as elected or appointed officials.

And just as obvious is the fact that millions of state workers will hang on to their jobs as long as they can, rather than contemplate a career change by either joining the private sector or becoming an entrepreneur. Most of these people live by the day, have little savings and additional income and rely mostly on their salaries for daily subsistence.

Through his bill, Piñol will force them out of their sinecures, ruffle their feathers and shake them out of their comfort zones. There is nothing more frightening to them than the thought of cutting short their daily government dole by a decade and, at the same time, practically eliminating the “other” source of income of the more unscrupulous ones.

Perhaps it is only fair that if Congress does consider the Piñol proposal, it should also cover not only the bureaucracy but also elected and appointed officials. Moreover, there should be an accompanying bill on further reforms at the state pension fund. 

Comments to matort@yahoo.com

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