New Delhi: The Government of India is planning to recruit retirees for part-time work, consulting jobs, and consulting and mentorship roles in the education and healthcare sectors, which are experiencing talent shortages.

The Centre is trying to make the best use of the experiences retirees hold. Adding that it will also be giving incentives to employers to hire retirees through part-time work and for arrangements and adjustable retirement age policies, as per the Economic Times report.

A senior government official told ET that additional measures, including a minimum wage structure based on prior experience as per certain age, phased retirement, and variations in roles and responsibilities, are being discussed.

United Nations report

United Nations data released in April 2023, India’s population is more than 1.4 billion, which recently outnumbered China’s population. By summer, the size of inhabitants will get around 2.9 million, more than the population of both China and Hong Kong togetherly, as per the UN Population Fund’s 2023 “State of World Population Report.”

However, India’s public is still considered young, but the UN mentioned that the number of Indians who will be over the age of 60 will be doubled in numbers by the year 2050 amounting to about 20 per cent of the total population.

“India is ageing at a rapid rate and the government is trying to see how we can harness the experience of our elderly while ensuring jobs for younger generations are not compromised,” one of the officials said.

A month back, the State Bank of India declared that it would be hiring retired bank staff on a contractual basis for more than 1,000 posts. The age limit for the applications of SBI recruitment was fixed between 60 and 63 years.

The SBI rolled out 821 vacancies for Channel Manager Facilitator-Anytime Channels (CMC-AC), 38 for Support Officer Anytime Channels (SO-AC) and 172 openings for Channel Manager Supervisors Anytime Channels (CMS-AC). Those possessing experience in ATM operations will be likely to be hired more, the bank said.

Other countries like Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France, which have ageing populations are considering how to effectively use the professional experience of their older workers, even people who are past the age of professional retirement.

This issue was also discussed on the sideline of the G20 summit. There are chances of the discussion’s conclusion being added to the government’s skill strategy paper, the official added.