PUTRAJAYA, Sept 13 \u2014 Civil servants planning to opt for early retirement must ensure they have a strong support plan in place, such as a second career, alternative income sources, and financial stability, to avoid hardship after leaving government service, the Public Service Department (PSD) has cautioned.<\/p>\n
PSD Pension Division deputy director Anom Akmar Mohd Omar said that among the most critical factors to consider before making such a decision are debt obligations, family support, and the ability to sustain oneself without relying on social welfare programmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone in their 40s is considering early retirement, they must have a backup plan. They must make sure they have another job lined up, an alternative income stream, or solid support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is to avoid getting to the point where they are deluged in financial issues and end up appealing to reverse their retirement or applying for aid like e-Kasih,\u201d she said during a live one-hour podcast hosted on PSD\u2019s official Facebook page today, which attracted thousands of viewers.<\/p>\n
According to Anom, civil servants who apply for early retirement generally fall into two main age categories.<\/p>\n
Those in their 40s typically opt for early retirement to pursue new careers, further their studies, join the private sector or government-linked companies (GLCs), take up overseas job offers, or continue a family business.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, someone who started working at 25 may, by 40, want a career change, skill upgrade, or a new job offer abroad. This is part of long-term planning, but they need to be thoroughly prepared,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In contrast, those in their 50s, nearing the mandatory retirement age of 60, often cite health reasons, a desire to spend more time with family, or challenges adapting to new technologies as their motivation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany say they want to retire alongside their already-retired spouse. Some suffer from health issues like knee pain or osteoporosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cA growing trend now is opting for retirement at 55, as they qualify for immediate pension payments,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
Anom Akmar said the minimum requirements for voluntary retirement include holding a valid pensionable position (PTB), being at least 40 years old, having served for more than 10 years, obtaining approval from the Head of Department, having a clean record with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), no disciplinary actions, and no existing educational sponsorship agreements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose declared bankrupt can still apply for early retirement, but must first consult with their head of department and get clearance from the Department of Insolvency. A valid bank account is also required for pension disbursement,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
She also urged public servants to be financially literate and evaluate the risks involved before deciding to leave service early.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly retirement doesn\u2019t just impact the individual. It can affect families and society if not planned properly,\u201d she concluded. \u2014 Bernama<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PUTRAJAYA, Sept 13 \u2014 Civil servants planning to opt for early retirement must ensure they have a strong…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[75436,45,49,48,75434,133,75437,75438,75439,131,132,75435],"class_list":["post-140126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-anom-akmar-mohd-omar","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-early-retirement-civil-servants","tag-finance","tag-financial-stability-after-retirement","tag-government-linked-companies-glcs","tag-malaysian-anti-corruption-commission-macc","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-public-service-department-malaysia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}