Revising a labour policy

According to the Social Security Corporation, about 190,000 retirees in the country receive social security. Of these, nearly half are “early retirees”.

Early beneficiaries from the corporation’s monthly benefits are those who have not reached the age of 60 for men or 55 for women, but worked for a minimum number of years — 20 in the case of men or 12 in that of women — which qualifies them to receive monthly retirement benefits.

This policy of early retirement needs to be revisited, especially when unemployment in the country remains high and the government is trying hard to cut down the number of jobless. 

Early retirement allows beneficiaries who qualify to compete for employment opportunities with young people; often, due to their experience, they are preferred for jobs, impeding newcomers to the labour market from getting employed.

Yes, early retirement enables one to supplement an otherwise limited monthly income, a very welcome addition that helps face the high cost of living, but there must be other ways to address this problem, like, for example, reviewing and improving retirement benefits on periodic basis and linking them with the cost of living.

But allowing early retirees to join the ranks of the unemployed, bringing up their already high number, and to compete for jobs that young people eager to work would love to take but are simply denied the opportunity is not right.

One way to address the situation is to increase the age of retirement to 65 for both men and women.

Why encourage or force people to retire when they are still fit and capable of carrying out their duties?

Many countries have been steadily raising the age of retirement because people now live longer and enjoy good health well beyond the traditional 60 mark.

Jordan may wish to follow suit, instead of encouraging early retirement, a policy does not correspond to contemporary norms.