TIG Post

Tag: Retirement Age

  • President Macron signs new pension age into law

    President Macron signs new pension age into law

    The extremely unpopular pension reforms which raise the state pension age from 62 to 64, have been signed into law by French President Emmanuel Macron.

    It took place hours after France’s highest constitutional council approved the modification.

    The Constitutional Council rejected calls for a referendum from the opposition, but it also ruled that key portions of the amendments were invalid due to legal issues.

    After the council made its decision, demonstrators set fire to Paris, and 112 people were detained.

    Since January, there have been twelve days of protests opposing the reforms.

    The measures will continue to be opposed, and on May 1st, unions are urging workers all over France to go to the streets once more.

    President Macron argues the reforms are essential to prevent the pension system collapsing. In March, the government used a special constitutional power to force through the changes without a vote.

    He signed the reforms into law in the early hours of Saturday morning.

    The Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt has said he expects the reforms to come into effect by the start of September.

    After the Friday ruling of the Constitutional Court, trade unions made an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal to the president not to sign the pension-age increase into law.

    The unions pointed out that six concessions that had been added to the reforms were rejected by the court, so what was already unfair was now “even more unbalanced”.

    Among the reforms struck down by the nine members of the Constitutional Council was a so-called “senior index” aimed at urging companies with more than 1,000 workers to take on employees over 55.

    Mr Dussopt has vowed to improve the employment rates of those aged over 50 in an effort to ease concerns about the financial impacts of the raised retirement age.

    The authorities had banned demonstrations in front of the Constitutional Council building in Paris until Saturday morning, but crowds of protesters had gathered nearby on Friday and the ruling was met with jeers.

    Some demonstrators chanted they would continue protesting until the changes were withdrawn.

    Later, several fires were set across the city as riot police tried to contain the situation, sometimes using tear gas. A Paris police official said 112 people have been arrested.

    Fires were also lit during demonstrations in Rennes and Nantes, while there were tense standoffs at times between protesters and police in Lyon.

  • French Council approves raising of retirement age

    French Council approves raising of retirement age

    Information coming in is that France’s top constitutional body has approved President Emmanuel Macron’s contested plan to raise the retirement age.

    The decision taken on Friday is in line with the French Constitution. The retirement age in France is 64 years. Macron can enact the bill within 15 days.

    All eyes were on the heavily guarded Constitutional Council, which can nix all or parts of a complex pension reform plan that Macron pushed through without a vote by the lower house of parliament.

    Security forces stood behind a metal fence erected in front of the edifice where the decision was being made.

    As tensions mounted hours before the decision, Macron invited labor unions to meet with him on Tuesday “whatever the decision by the Constitutional Council,” his office said.

    The president did not grant a request last month by unions for a meeting.

    The president’s drive to increase the retirement age has provoked months of labor strikes and protests.

    Violence by pockets of ultra-left radicals marked the 12 otherwise peaceful nationwide marches that unions organized since January.

  • Retirement age in France now 64, after Senate votes

    Retirement age in France now 64, after Senate votes

    Despite weeks of demonstrations and strikes that drew thousands of workers, the French Senate decided to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

    The proposal to raise the retirement age in France by two years, to 64, was approved by the Senate. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 201 to 115.

    The vote was held in the midst of widespread strikes and protests, which have paralysed many industries because employees in the public sector and other workers opposed President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal.

    What is the deal?

    The French government is looking to realign the country’s pension system despite strong opposition from labor unions, saying that it is financially unsustainable otherwise. 

    On top of pushing retirement age to 64, Macron is seeking to incerase the period of payment required to qualify for a full state pension.

    Macron’s government argues that the unpopular measures are needed to shore up the scheme for the future. 

    Despite clearing the Senate on Thursday, the bill is still bouncing between France’s chambers of parliament. 

    President Emmanuel Macron’sadjustment of pensions also needs to be approved by the lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, where majority support might not be as easy to come by.

    The lower house is also working on proposed amendments in the form of a compromise plan that might also be sent to the Senate for a vote.

    Strong opposition

    The increase of retirement age and the proposed changes to the pensions face stiff opposition from parts of French society.

    Left-wing politicians voiced anger after the Senate voted in favor of the reforms.

    “Your name will forever be attached to a reform that will set the clock back almost 40 years,” Socialist Monique Lubin told Labor Minister Oliver Dussopt.

    Labor unions have promised to increase pressure on the government by calling for mass action by workers across different sectors.

    Fuel deliveries, schools, trains, and flights are being disrupted by the demonstrations.

    Dock workers have joined strikes in a bid to convince Macron to change his stance on the bill that he has championed in both of his presidential campaigns — he gave up on the proposed reforms amid the onset of the Covid pandemic in his first term. 

    Most other European countries have already hiked the retirement age to 65 or over, with France’s retirement system among Europe’s and particularly western Europe’s most generous. 

     

  • TUC wants government to revise low lump-sum benefits of pensioners

    The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on government to immediately convene a stakeholders’ forum to discuss and review upward the low lump-sum benefits and related issues of pensioners.

    A statement from the TUC, signed by Secretary General Dr Yaw Baah and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the General Council of TUC discussed some unresolved pension-related issues including the lack of clarity on the computation of past credit to be paid by SSNIT.

    It also discussed the fact that the second-tier contributions had not been invested over a long enough period to generate adequate returns, as envisaged by the proponents of the three-tier pension system.

    The statement said there was a genuine fear that workers who would retire in 2020 and beyond might be worse-off in terms of lumpsum benefits compared to lump-sum benefits under PNDCL 247.

    To address these and related issues, TUC proposed a stakeholder forum on pensions in 2019, but regrettably, no forum was held and these issues remained unresolved.

    Many workers, it said, had retired on the three-tier pension scheme with harrowing experience.

    “Pension Payment Statements we have gathered from some of our members who retired in 2020 show that they are worse-off because their lumpsum benefits are far lower than what they would have received if they had retired under PNDC Law 247. This is unfair and unjustifiable,” the statement said.
    .
    The pension reforms that gave birth to the current pension system was premised on the idea of enhancing retirement income for workers, it said.

    “Therefore, no retiree should be worse-off compared to the old pension system. Why should workers, who have retired after more than three decades of dedicated service to this country, receive such paltry sums as lump-sum benefit? This is injustice social partners should not allow to continue,” it added.

    The statement also condemned the gruesome murder of a 90year old woman, Akua Denteh, at Kafaba in the Northern region.

    “The Council was outraged by this heinous murder and the barbarism it portrays of us as Ghanaian people in this day and age. A 90-year woman with infinite knowledge and wisdom ought to have been revered rather than beaten to death in Ghana in 2020,” it said.

    The statement, therefore, called on government to ensure that the security agencies brought all those who participated in the disgraceful act to be punished in accordance with laws of the land.

    It also urged government to institute special measures to protect elderly women in Ghana, particularly in parts of the country where they faced perennial threats for “witchcraft”.

    Government, the statement noted, must implement a special programme that provided basic income, housing and other amenities for the aged including those suffering in the so-called witch camps in some parts of the country.

    “The TUC would like to reassure our social partners that we are ready to work with them to address social and economic challenges facing our country. We expect our partners to show their commitment to social partnership based on mutual respect,” it added.

    Source: GNA

  • 4 police commissioners bow out at age 60

    A farewell ceremony was held by the police administration for four commissioners who are proceeding on mandatory retirement.

    The now-retired commissioners are Prosper Kwame Agblor, who was the Director-General in charge of Legal and Prosecution; David Nennyi Ampah-Benin, former Director-General in charge of Special Duties; Alex Amponsah-Asiamah former Director-General in charge of Services and DCOP Simon Yaw Afeku former Director-General in charge of ICT.

    Having attained the age of 60, they must exist in conformity with the prevailing standard.

    In a short ceremony held at the Police Headquarters last Tuesday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. James Oppong-Boanuh, decorated the retired commissioners with distinguished service medals and praised them for their hard work and commitment to the Police Service and the nation.

    “The Police Service is proud of you and wish you the best as you start another journey of life,” he said as he presented plaques to them on behalf of the Police Management Board.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • Conor McGregor: UFC fighter announces retirement for third time

    Conor McGregor says he has retired from fighting – for the third time in four years.

    Ireland’s former two-weight UFC champion, 31, has a record of 22 wins and four defeats.

    His last fight, in January 2020, saw him beat American fan favourite Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in just 40 seconds in Las Vegas.

    He has previously announced his retirement in 2016 and 2019 before twice returning to the octagon.

    McGregor also tried boxing, losing to former five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather in August 2017.

    “Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” he said on Twitter on Sunday.

    “Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!”

    McGregor signed for the UFC in 2013 as a two-division Cage Warriors champion, and went on to capture the UFC titles at featherweight and lightweight, becoming the first man to simultaneously hold UFC titles in two weight classes.

    Those titles were subsequently stripped by the UFC after he failed to defend his belts.

    After his first ‘retirement’ in 2016, he returned in October 2018 to unsuccessfully challenge for the UFC lightweight title against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.

    Earlier this year, he displayed one of the most spectacular performances of his career to defeat Cerrone – his first win inside the octagon since taking his second world title in 2016.

    In May, McGregor declared himself as the second greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time behind Anderson Silva, adding he would “easily” surpass the Brazilian before retiring.

    However, McGregor’s time in mixed martial arts has also been marred by controversy.

    In 2018, he was ordered to have anger management training and perform five days of community service by a court in return for criminal charges being dropped after he had attacked a bus containing rival UFC fighters.

    Video footage appeared to show McGregor throwing a railing at a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and a number of other UFC fighters.

    In March 2019, McGregor was arrested in Miami for allegedly smashing a fan’s phone as they tried to take pictures of him. The charges were later dropped, although McGregor settled a civil lawsuit with the victim out of court.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Extend retirement age beyond 60 AU Commission deputy chair advocates

    A Deputy Chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mr Kwesi Quartey, has said Ghana needs to reconsider and review its retirement age upwards from the stipulated 60 years.

    Mr Quartey said that would help the nation benefit from the knowledge and experience of people who fell within that age bracket who were still very productive.

    “As people age, they acquire knowledge and experience in their areas of expertise and they become valuable resources where they can deliver to the best of their ability. Most people, at the age of 60, are still productive and active and they tend to be at the height of their prowess,” he stated.

    Read: GRA Boss announces retirement

    He, therefore, suggested that the retirement age should be made flexible, so that if a person was healthy and willing, he or she would be given the chance to continue working for some few more years after attaining 60 years.

    Conference

    Mr Quartey made the suggestion when he delivered the keynote address at the annual research conference on ageing organised by the Centre for Ageing Studies of the University of Ghana.

    The two-day conference, which is the third edition, is being held at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana on the theme: “Ageing in the African context: Emerging issues and empowering options”.

    The conference, which forms part of the International Day of Older Persons, seeks to share and understand issues surrounding ageing and how best to prosecute the agenda for quality life for the elderly.

    The 2010 Population and Housing Census showed that although the proportion of older persons (60+ years) decreased from 7.2 per cent in 2000 to 6.7 per cent in 2010, in terms of absolute numbers there had been a seven-fold increase in the population of the aged from 215,258 in 1960 to 1,643,978 in 2010.

    The proportion of the female elderly population was 56 per cent, compared with 44 per cent for males.

    Valuable resources

    Mr Quartey said Africa lacked trained skilled labour and, therefore, people who had acquired skills and knowledge over a long period of time should be given the chance to transfer their knowledge, skills and expertise to the younger generation.

    He said the aged became valuable resources and a reliable storehouse of knowledge and skills who could immensely contribute their quota to the development of the country even when they were 60 years.

    He further noted that the ageing population was growing and, therefore, there was the need to pay critical attention to the needs of the aged to ensure their well-being and quality of life.

    Read: KenBond case to get new panel as Justice Adinyira nears retirement

    Although the government of Ghana approved a National Ageing Policy in 2010, Mr Quartey said, much had not been done to promote the welfare and well-being of the aged in the country.

    Retirement age gradually increasing

    The minimum retirement age in some developed countries had gradually increased from 60 to 62 years by 2018 and it is expected to be gradually reviewed upwards from 65 to 67 years by 2023.

    In the United States, the retirement age is between 62 and 65 years and it is

     

    Source: Graphic.com.gh