Trivandrum: At present, there are around 5.34 lakhs people serving as employees in the government sector, while the number of pensioners exceeds 5.50 lakhs. This unhealthy trend, capable of seriously marring the state's economy, was pointed out by the Finance Minister M Mani in the Assembly Session on Monday. The minister also has put forward the suggestion of increasing the retirement age from the present 56 to 60.

The suggestion was expectedly met with stiff protest from the opposition and from the State Youth Congress as well. The last time the age limit was raised from 55 to 56 in the annual budget presented by M Mani earlier this year, it had resulted in widespread sparks of violence across the state.

Kerala currently has the retirement age for its government employees fixed at 56, which is among the lowest in the country. And the state also has the longest life expectancy in the nation, with an average life span of around 75 years, which means that the government is at present burdened with paying pension to retired employees for twenty more years after their service period, putting a huge strain on the state's financial planning.