Stephen Vines

The View | Hong Kong civil service opens the door wider for older workers – but not before time

Stephen Vines applauds the move by the Hong Kong government to raise the retirement age for more civil servants, but says a far bigger change in policy measures and work practices is needed if Hong Kong is to cope with its ageing population

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Outside the government offices in Tamar. Last week, Hong Kong’s Executive Council decided that the age of mandatory retirement for more civil servants would be raised from 60 to 65, while that for disciplined services staff will be raised from 55 to 60. Photo: Felix Wong

Stephen Vines

Published: 3:02pm, 27 Jun 2018Updated: 10:28pm, 27 Jun 2018

Has the Hong Kong government really decided to embrace the 21st century with new retirement policies for its staff? If so, it is just about managing to catch up with the private sector, which recognised the contributions made by older employees many years ago.

Yet even outside government, Hong Kong employers are lagging behind in recognising the need to make better use of older employees. This is a somewhat urgent matter, given the projected shortage of labour.

Last week, the Executive Council decided that the age of mandatory retirement for more civil servants would be raised from 60 to 65, while disciplined services staff will be shoved out at 60, as opposed to 55. This is the second time in three years the government is making such adjustments; the higher retirement ages already apply to those who join the civil service from June 1, 2015.

Clearly, the bureaucrats have finally woken up to the fact that their employment policies are out of line with current realities. Yet fixing the age at 65 seems to be unnecessarily timid in current conditions.

As matters stand, those above the age of 65 account for about 3.2 per cent of the total Hong Kong workforce. This is way below countries like Singapore, with 6.5 per cent, which have proactive policies for encouraging older employees to stay at work.

Workers out during lunch time in the financial business district in Singapore, in 2015. Singapore has proactive policies for encouraging older employees to keep working. Photo: AFP