Iraqi bill would raise mandatory retirement age from 60 to 63, add service-buyback option

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A draft bill submitted to Iraq's parliament would raise the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 63 and add a service-purchase option to pension law, the bill's stated aim being to prevent the loss of scientific and technical expertise across state institutions. Basra lawmaker Abbas Hayal al-Saidi, a member of parliament's Integrity Committee, said the proposed change is driven by the need to retain accumulated expertise in public institutions. He argued that workers reaching 60 have typically built decades of professional, technical and administrative experience, and that extending service by three years would improve institutional performance and ensure continuity in strategic projects. Al-Saidi said a 2019 amendment that lowered the retirement age was adopted as a temporary fix under complex political and economic conditions but later created serious technical and administrative gaps in state agencies. He added that those gaps have negatively affected technical processes for strategic project contracts, including joint management during oil licensing rounds. The lawmaker also said the annual number of retiring employees is low relative to the overall public workforce and that the three-year extension would not impose a significant additional cost on the general budget. He noted that early retirement strained the Pension Fund through lump-sum payouts and early deductions. Al-Saidi added that the National Pension Institution submitted official recommendations in June calling for raising the retirement age to 63 and granting service-buyback rights to certain categories.