Retirement Age of Kerala Govt Employees Raised to 56 Years

Finally, after successive governments in Kerala refused to raise the retirement age of state government employees, Finance Minister KM Mani increased it from 55 to 56 years in his budget.

"We are the only state where state government employees retire at age 55, but given the life expectancy, which is the highest in the country (74 years), it is appropriate that the retirement age should be increased to 56," said Mani.

As soon as this was read out by Mani, who presented his 10th budget, angry opposition members rose to say the budget has been leaked and the news has appeared in a local paper on Monday morning.

Mani's predecessor Thomas Issac of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in 2010 had decided to allow all state government employees to retire at the end of the fiscal and not on the date when they turned 55.