The Coalition Government will be extending the retirement age from 60 to 62 years for specialised expert positions requiring scarce skills across the civil service.
This was confirmed by Prime Minister and Minister for Civil Service Sitiveni Rabuka who says this is a strategic approach to retain expertise and address skill shortages within the civil service.
He says under the new policy, positions categorised as having "scarce skills" will be eligible for an extended retirement age.
He adds this determination will be based on clear guidelines and criteria developed by the Ministry of Civil Service, which will be circulated to all government ministries for implementation.
The potential positions that might be considered as having scarce skills are specialised physicians and surgeons, nurses, public health experts, cybersecurity experts, software developers and engineers, data scientists and analysts, civil engineers, environmental engineers, electrical engineers, STEM teachers, special education teachers, urban planners and policy experts, wildlife biologists and conservationists, and forestry management professionals.
Extensions beyond 62 years will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with recommendations submitted by respective line ministries.
The Government is committed to ensuring a smooth transition and effective implementation of this policy change.
