Retiring at 58!
From the NST,
It came as a big surprise to me that the Government is raising the age of retirement just because they cannot foot the bill for the rising number of pensioners. The first thing that struck me was, how can raising the age of retirement save money? After all, that does not change the number of civil servants. However, in actual fact it will result in further losses as those not in retirement actually command a higher figure. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Unfortunately, the Government has decided that new civil servants will have to contribute to an EPF-like scheme so that it could offset their rising pension bills. I feel that the Government lacks foresight in their financial planning. Despite already passing on the costs to the public in many areas, they appear to still have great difficulties balancing their accounts. Policy makers are now implementing short term measures without much long term plan. Civil servants are suffering as a result of such incompetent management.
Perhaps it may be wise that the Government look into more pertinent areas where corruption takes root like contract giving etc. When it is well known that many government officers remain corrupt, little in the way of action is done. Perhaps it has been so ingrained in those in political positions that corruption is seen as a nuisance rather than a serious crime. Maybe money can be saved when such a menace is tackled.
It appears the state of the economy is not healthy. This when Proton has reported losses and now the inability of the Government to support its pensioners. I feel this is an embarassing moment for the Badawi administration, something that should be taken into account by voters in the next general election!
| PROPOSALS FOR CIVIL SERVANTS TO...: Retire at 58 Sarban Singh Kuala Lumpur, Fri The retirement age for 850,000 civil servants may be increased to 58 years by next month. The move is to address a burgeoning pension bill. New civil servants may also have to contribute a percentage of their salary to a pension scheme with government input, similar to the Employees’ Provident Fund. The moves come as the Government mulls over the financial implications of a pension bill that has tripled over the last decade. It cost the Government RM4.96 billion last year, a RM3.36 billion increase over the allocation in 1994. cont... |
It came as a big surprise to me that the Government is raising the age of retirement just because they cannot foot the bill for the rising number of pensioners. The first thing that struck me was, how can raising the age of retirement save money? After all, that does not change the number of civil servants. However, in actual fact it will result in further losses as those not in retirement actually command a higher figure. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Unfortunately, the Government has decided that new civil servants will have to contribute to an EPF-like scheme so that it could offset their rising pension bills. I feel that the Government lacks foresight in their financial planning. Despite already passing on the costs to the public in many areas, they appear to still have great difficulties balancing their accounts. Policy makers are now implementing short term measures without much long term plan. Civil servants are suffering as a result of such incompetent management.
Perhaps it may be wise that the Government look into more pertinent areas where corruption takes root like contract giving etc. When it is well known that many government officers remain corrupt, little in the way of action is done. Perhaps it has been so ingrained in those in political positions that corruption is seen as a nuisance rather than a serious crime. Maybe money can be saved when such a menace is tackled.
It appears the state of the economy is not healthy. This when Proton has reported losses and now the inability of the Government to support its pensioners. I feel this is an embarassing moment for the Badawi administration, something that should be taken into account by voters in the next general election!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home