Teachers who resigned to take up jobs in public universities will now be allowed to access their pension after attaining the minimum retirement age of 60 years.
This latest development comes after Teachers Service Commission (TSC) instructed the Director of Pensions at the National Treasury through a letter dated July 5, 2024 to allow such teachers to access their pensions without necessarily attaining the University lecturers’ mandatory retirement age of 75 years.
“The Commission is privy to the fact that University lecturers’ mandatory retirement age ground is 75 years. To this end, any lecturer who exits the service of a public university before this age can only do so through resignation since there are no other exit modes applicable under their set-up.
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“It is therefore prudent in the spirit of the provisions of the Pension Act Cap 189 that such teachers who resign after attaining the minimum qualifying age to be presumed as having taken voluntary retirement. This will ensure that such teachers are not deprived of their benefits for the period of service under the Commission,” the letter from TSC Secretary/Chief Executive office seen by Education News reads.
The Commission further said that resignation will be considered as one of the modes of exiting service with retirement dues.
“The decision herein is premised on the conditions under which such teachers were released to the service to the respective Universities. Specifically, the condition alludes to the fact that the pension in respect of the teaching service is suspended until such a teacher qualifies for retirement under their respective Pension Schemes. In this case, resignation will be considered as one of the modes of exiting service with retirement dues.
“Please accept this as supportive evidence in cases where a teacher released to a Public University exits service before the mandatory retirement age,” the letter also reads.
The government provides retirement benefits to public officers as part of their terms of service with a view to providing them with social security in old age as stipulated in Article 43(1) (e) of the Constitution.
The Pension Act (Cap189) makes provisions for granting and regulating the payment of pensions, gratuities and other allowances in respect of public service officers.
The provision of retirement benefits to public officers is intended to ensure a smooth transition from active service with employment income to retirement with a certain level of replacement income.
This is so that the standard of living for public officers does not change drastically in old age.
By Vostine Ratemo
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