HP mulling to increase retirement age by 1 year

Cash strapped Himachal Pradesh is considering increasing the retirement age of employees from 58 to 59 years, officials aware of the matter said.

The cabinet sub-committee on resource mobilisation constituted under deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri had made this recommendation. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in recent budget session, had accepted that the current 2025-26 fiscal is going to be “very difficult” for the cash-strapped state. To tide the fiscal challenges, the state government was looking at ways and means to cut down and defer expenditure, he had said.

If this recommendation is accepted, the state government is expected to get partial relief in the pension burden by increasing the retirement age by one year. The government, which has a debt of ₹1.03 lakh crore, is looking at saving ₹800 crore by deferring the payment of pension benefits.

“We have given suggestions on 50 points to government but the cabinet will take final call on which are viable for revenue generation. We have to tread cautiously keeping in mind the welfare of the employees as well as improving fiscal health of the state,” deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri.