Abraham Koomson, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), has called for a debate on the need to extend the retirement age from 60 years to 65 years.

Mr. Koomson told the Ghana News Agency that reviewing the age for retirement from active service would allow the maintenance of the status quo and the transfer of skills to younger staff.

He said when proper negotiations with stakeholders were done on it, it would take into consideration all the needed factors to ensure that while the age is extended, it would not also affect the employment of the younger ones.

He noted that retiring at an early age could be an option for those who are weak by age 60 and therefore need to retire, while those still strong and fit to work could have an extension up to 65 years.

According to him, a few countries across the world, such as Belgium, Canada, Chile, and the rest, all have retirement ages above 60, which has benefited their economies.

He noted that raising the retirement age would help the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) have enough funds to give pensioners better benefits than currently.

He said institutional memories could be preserved, with such staff responsible for offering practical training to new employees.

The GFL Secretary-General bemoaned the lack of practical training, professionalism, and ethics among most young employees.

He said a lot of employers have been complaining about the current crop of graduates they employ as employees, saying they lack the ability to fit into the job market and therefore need to retrain them and provide them with the needed skills.