Solon wants mandatory retirement age scrapped

A bill seeking to scrap the mandatory retirement age of 65 has been filed in the House of Representatives.

House Bill 3220 by Senior Citizen party-list Representative Rodolfo Ordanes Jr. proposes to amend the Labor Code by adding a provision which states that “an employee who reached the age of 65 years can choose to continue their employment provided that he qualifies under the bona fide occupational qualifications of his job."

Likewise, Ordanes' proposal adds the provision  "the burden to prove otherwise is with the employer.”

"It stands to reason that a currently employed senior who reaches 65 should be able to continue in his or her current position at work or qualify for promotion to a higher position for as long as he or she meets the stated qualifications of the job,” Ordanes said in a statement.

Ordanes said his proposal is a progression from the Anti-Age Discrimination Law earlier passed, a measure which has enabled many seniors to continue working.

He then argued that there are many seniors 65 and older who are in good health, of sound mind and body who can continue to be assets to the organizations and companies they are serving.

"The path or option to continue leading productive lives should not be taken away," he said.

The lawmaker said that rising cost of goods and healthcare coupled with the slow increase in income has made the goal of senior citizens to retire comfortably a dream rather than reality.

He cited that of those receiving monthly pension, 60% receive below P 5,000 per month while only 4% receive a monthly pension of P30,000 and above.

"It is almost impossible for our senior citizens to comfortably retire today, and that constrains senior citizens to seek employment," he said.

"Unfortunately, due to our laws on compulsory retirement and existing prejudice on the capability of senior citizens to perform any job well or the possibility of senior citizen employment to take jobs from the youth, senior citizens are relegated into situation where they have to become part of the unsafe informal economy or rely on handouts by their relatives just to survive," he added.

He also said senior citizens are constrained to heavily rely on their savings upon retirement and are unable to fully enjoy their remaining years as they remain saddled with the high cost of living.

Ordanes said there is a constitutional basis for seeking the removal of the compulsory retirement age of 65 because the Charter mandates the government to care for its elderly members through programs of social security and foster their capacity to attain more meaningful and productive life.

“Through this [measure], we, as a nation, can finally fulfill our Constitutional mandate to promote social justice by protecting and uphold the welfare of the vulnerable sectors of our society," he added.—LDF, GMA News