Government employees who reach the compulsory retirement age of 65 years may request extension of service for six months under specific conditions.

In CSC Resolution No. 2000002 dated 3 January 2020, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) laid down the conditions for the grant of requests for service extension. These conditions, along with the agency head’s justification of the need for the service, include completion of a program or project identified as a priority of the agency; deployment in services that have an impact on national security, safety, and national or local emergency as declared by the appropriate authority; and provision of highly technical expertise not readily available in the agency.

Under the guidelines, extension of service shall be allowed for a period of six months, and extended for another six months under meritorious circumstances.

Requests for extension of service for completion of the 15 years of service required under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Law may be granted but only for a maximum of two years.

Additional conditions

Requests for extension of service to complete 15 years of service shall be granted to government employees, irrespective of the status of appointment. This includes those who have optionally retired and have availed of retirement benefits but were later reemployed.

However, requests for extension of service to complete 15 years of service due to incurrence of leave of absence without pay for one year shall not be allowed, if such leave of absence is due to any reason other than illness.

The guidelines further state that officials and employees on service extension are entitled to salaries, allowances, and other remunerations that are normally given as part of an employee’s compensation package. They are also covered by Civil Service Law and rules and may be held accountable for any violations.

Note: CSC Resolution No. 2000002 was published in a newspaper of general publication on 2 October 2020.