Mozambique: Parliament raises mandatory retirement age

The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Wednesday passed a law raising the mandatory retirement age for state employees, from the current 60 years to 65 years. The retirement age had been compulsorily lowered from 65 to 60 years for men and 55 for women in 2017. It was a controversial measure, since skilled professionals at the height of their career (including, for example, specialist doctors and university lecturers) were suddenly told that they could no longer work for the Mozambican state, even if they wanted to carry on working.

The new law also provides for an exceptional regime that allows the extension of the retirement age to 70 years for careers considered strategic, such as diplomats, university lectures, doctors, and researchers. “With the proposed revision of this law, the mandatory retirement age for state employees and state agents is raised from 60 to 65 years, which has been the regional trend in the PALOPs (Portuguese-speaking African Countries) and the universal trend where the retirement age has been between 65 and 70 years”, he said. The bill was not entirely consensual.

The former rebel movement Renamo claimed it was discriminatory and voted against it. The bill passed with the votes of the majority Frelimo Party, and of the other two opposition parties, Podemos (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique), and the MDM (Mozambique Democratic Movement).