Pension advisers and economists in Kuala Lumpur are pushing the government to raise Malaysia’s mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65 through phased adjustments. The current statutory threshold leaves millions of workers exiting the formal labor force with inadequate savings to cover longer lifespans.

Official data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia released on September 30 shows life expectancy for a newborn in 2026 reached 75.5 years, while residents reaching age 60 are projected to live an additional 20.2 years to 80.2. A retirement age set at 60 requires workers to fund more than two decades of living expenses on savings accumulated over short careers.

William Price, chief executive of consultancy D3P Global Pension Consulting, presented a transition framework at the Employees Provident Fund International Social Wellbeing Conference 2026 in Kuala Lumpur. Under his proposal, authorities would add three months of working life for every calendar year, reaching a statutory retirement age of 65 by 2040 without forcing abrupt extensions on staff near departure.

A worker aged 40 today would retire at 65 under the schedule, while a 50-year-old would work until 62 and a half. Employees aged 59 would take on an additional three months, retiring at 60 years and three months. Price suggested exemptions for manual laborers and low-income staff who entered the formal workforce at age 16, allowing early exit after completing 40 to 45 contribution years.

Rajen Devadason, a licensed financial planner speaking at the same conference, proposed an accelerated track to lift the threshold by one year every two years.

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