Bill to Raise Retirement Age for DPP and Auditor General Passed

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (July 25), passed legislation to raise the age of retirement for holders of the offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Auditor General from 60 to 65 years.

The Constitution (Amendment of Sections 96 (1) and 121(1)) Act, 2023, to facilitate the change, was approved without amendments.

Piloting the Bill in the House, Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, said the constitutionally established ceiling for the age of retirement for the Auditor-General and the DPP, is five years shorter in duration when compared to the upper limit set in the Pensions (Public Service) Act for a public officer in the civil service.

The Pensions (Public Service) Act, which was promulgated in 2017, sought to, among other things, gradually increase the retirement age of public officers to 65 years.

Minister Chuck said the proposed amendment to the Constitution will allow for the expansion of the term of service from 60 to 65 years, thereby addressing the inconsistency that currently exists between the two pieces of legislation, and by extension creating a more level playing field for all.

“The framers of the Constitution anticipated that the age of retirement can change, so the provisions were neither entrenched (nor deeply entrenched),” he pointed out.

Clause 2 amends section 96 (1) of the Constitution by removing the words “sixty years” and substituting instead the words “sixty-five years”.

Additionally, the clause deletes the words “not exceeding sixty-five years” in paragraph (b) and substitutes the words “not exceeding seventy years.”

Minister Chuck said the amendments raise the age of retirement to 65 years and allow the Governor-General, in appropriate cases, to permit an extension up to 70 years.

“The clause goes on to allow a sitting DPP, at the date of the commencement of this amendment to the Constitution, to elect in writing to the Governor-General to retire at any time after attaining the age of 60 years,” he explained.

Similarly, Clause 3 amends section 121(1) of the Constitution by removing the words “sixty years” and substituting instead the words “sixty-five years”.

The Clause deletes the words “not exceeding sixty-five years” in paragraph (b) and substitutes the words “not exceeding seventy years”.

“The clause goes on to allow a sitting Auditor-General, at the date of the commencement of this amendment to the Constitution, to elect in writing to the Governor-General to retire at any time after attaining the age of 60 years,” Minister Chuck noted.