Labor ministry proposes requiring firms to hire employees till age 65

The labor ministry proposed Wednesday requiring companies to keep their workers employed till the age of 65 if they wish to continue working even after reaching the retirement age of 60, in light of the government’s plan to raise the pensionable age from 60 to 65 in stages.

It is uncertain, however, if the bill would be enacted as expected, as employers are opposed to making continued employment obligatory.

Under the current law, companies are obliged to keep their workers employed until they reach 65, but the law also allows firms to select which workers to employ based on various criteria including their ability.

The ministry also said raising the retirement age itself to 65 would be “a mid- to long-term agenda.”

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