November 8, 2026
The Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee is studying a law proposal to raise the retirement age in the public sector from 64 to 68 years. This trend comes in light of the severe financial crisis facing the state and the continuous decline in the number of employees, amid a wide debate about the repercussions of this step on employees, the public treasury, and the future of the administration.
The proposal aims to postpone entitlement to pensions and end-of-service compensation, and to benefit from the accumulated experience of employees. Public administrations are currently facing a severe shortage of personnel and difficulty in attracting new employees, as a result of low salaries and their loss of their ability to compete in the labor market. On the other hand, this amendment raises questions about the extent of its impact on the opportunities to renew public administration and make room for young talents.
In this context, the President of the Public Sector Employees Association, Raed Hamadeh, explained that employees are now suffering from constant anxiety about their future after retirement due to the significant collapse in the purchasing value of salaries, as the retirement salary no longer provides the minimum requirements of life, which makes exit from service a worrying matter compared to the past when the government job provided stability of living and a decent life.
Hamada pointed out that raising the retirement age to 68 years gives employees an additional opportunity of four years in the hope of improved salaries, in addition to currently benefiting from allowances, compensation, and additional working hours. He stressed that the problem goes beyond current employees to include a decline in demand for public jobs, citing the experiences of the Civil Service Council, where certain jobs remained without progress due to low wages, which led some workers to rely on the help of relatives or work in more than one field.
Hamada considered that the step also carries a positive aspect for the state, as it allows it to benefit from the expertise of employees who are sometimes forced to contract with them again after they reach the age of 64 due to the urgent need for them by departments. He stressed the need for the extension to be optional, allowing the employee who is healthy and willing to continue to remain until the age of 68, while leaving freedom for those who do not wish or whose health conditions do not allow this to retire at the specified time.
Regarding the end-of-service compensation crisis, Hamada pointed out that there are projects and proposals being worked on to reconsider exchange compensation and provide justice to those affected by the financial collapse, warning that referring employees to retirement with compensation that has lost its real value constitutes a major loss for them. He stressed that the Public Sector Employees Association adheres to reaching the age of 68 years as a better option than other proposals (which call for raising it to 66 years), pointing out that the ability to work does not stop at this age, and reiterating the importance of its optional nature until living and economic conditions improve.
