Cabinet approves 63 retirement age bill

The Council of Ministers approved a bill on Wednesday that will gradually push the official retirement age to 63, instead of 60 as at present.

The bill, which will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval, is due to come into effect on July 1, 2005.

Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said the obligatory retirement age for those who will turn 60 between 1 July 2005 and 31 December 2006, will be 61.

Those who turn 60 between 1 January 2007 and 30 June 2008 will be obliged to retire at the age of 62, while those who reach their 60th birthday after 1 July 2008 will have to retire at the age of 63.

Reaching a deal on raising the retirement age by July had come under threat earlier this year, when members of the civil servants’ union, PASYDY, voted to reject a deal which the government had made with union leaders.