Evening star., 1924-02-11
Hits Retirement Age.
Unjust to Make Separation Com
pulsory at 65, Says Writer.

| Unjust to Make Separation Com
pulsory at Is, Says Writer.
To the Editor Of The Star:
1 In a recent issue Of The Star there
| appeared an article pleading for the
retention Of that portion OF section G
! Of the civil service retirement act which
provides that an employe who reaches
the age of seventy may be continued in
| the service for two periods of two years
\ each.
! 1t does not appear to be generally
known among civil service employees
| that all of the bills now pending be-
! fore Congress either compel or make
| possible a lowering of the age of au-
| tomato or compulsory retirement.
The Stanfield- -Lehlbach bill which has
| the Endorsement OF the Federal
Employees Union will. if passed in it's
present form. automatically separate
! an employe from the service on at
would not do violence to the lam
| guage of this bill If it were con-
| strued to require the retirement OF
| an employe on, completion OF tnlrty
years of service. Section 6 OF the
retirement act states that "all en-
L
| shall on arriving at retire.
ment age as defined in section 1 hereof
be automatically separated from the
service" etc. The pending bill re-
existing law which defines the age
J of retirement" as seventy by a para
| graph which defines the "age OF re
tirement" as sixty-five, or "a possible
| with the employe. which he may
| have attained on completion of thirty
years of service.
* x I: X
From answers to inquiries at head
quarters OF the Federal Employees
| Union it would appear that it was
the purpose Of the union to indorse
only optional retirement at sixty-hve on
| completion of thirty years Of service.
However .his may be, il section OF
| the present law is to remain as 1t
stands (and the pending bill does not
alter it,, the passage Of the bill Will
| mean compulsory retirement at sixty
| five.
While each of the other pending
| bills states seventy as the age OF
| automatic retirement they each en-
power the head of a department with
! authority to establish a lower age OF
compulsory retirement extending
| down to age sixty.
The law examiners and principal
examiners of the patent Office filed
with the joint committee on reform
| in the civil service a paper protes sting
| against the proposed lowering of the
age OF compulsory retirement, from
| which the following is quoted:
"Even with the annuity increased
to $1,000 per annuu retirement as
! viewed by the great majority of EN-
| ployes receiving $4,000 or upward,
\ is not beside eratum but a calamity.
| Forced retirement can be justified
| only on the ground that the employe
| salary. 1t is submitted that with the
| average individual this condition does
not obtain at the age of sixty-five
| solely because of age and that the
| sentence Of official death should not
be passed on the employe merely be-
| cause he has reached that age. II
| is true that the proposed revision OF
4 the law does not affect the present
| possible stay of sentence for two
| periods of two years each. But it is
he should have the specter OF forced
| separation from his position threat
! enfng him merely because of age
when that age does not necessarily
| signify a waning of mental or physi-
cal vigor."
| 1t it be urged that many of the
more important Offices under the
! civil service are held by men ad-
| vanced in years and that the good
! OF the service requires that these
| places be filled by younger and more
energetic men. the reply is that under
!! the reclassification act employees, ir-
| respective of age. may be denoted
or even dismissed. if found wanting
| in efficiency. Simple justice, how
ever cries out against their being
| alone. especially at an age when so
| many men are physically and men,
| tally alert.
| As for the plea that the retirement
age should be lowered in order to
I speed up the wheels OF promotion
merely to provide for the advance
| ment of the younger ones.
The retirement act. AS 1t is propose d
| to modify ii. may, by reason of the
. increased annuity, appeal to the en-
ploye receiving $500 or less. as very
| desirable. even with forced retirement
! at sixty-five: but with the employe
are the deductions from his salary
far in excess of a like proportional
! annuity. but when he is separated
| from the service the disparity be-
as to make it impossible for him TO
/ accommodate himself to the condi-
tions Of life that the shrunken in
come imposes.
A recent issue of The Star carried
an article setting forth the alarming
condition in the government service
| due to the large number of resigna-
tions of the scientific employees.
What young man with a scientific
| or technical training and vision for
| the future can be attracted to the
government service as Offering a
| field for life work when that work is
| decreed by law to be terminated be-
| fore the infirmitias of age would
ordinarily require, and his concluding
more. doomed to he passed in com
| parative penury? C. l.. WOLCOTT.
T0TD ACT