Why retirement age should remain at 60 years - SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich

In her view, lowering the retirement age forces the nation to incur a higher pensionable liability as more Kenyans will now be pensionable.

She further argued that it would be impractical to dispose of employees at a fairly young age while they still possess a rich experience that bolsters the Kenyan workforce.

"You need to look at what's the common trend worldwide because that gives us a benchmark and of course, there are countries where there is no retirement age," she said on Tuesday speaking to Spice FM. 

"The conversation should be what works for Kenya. If you say people retire at 55 it means they are pensionable at 55 yet they are people who are still productive, they can contribute effectively to the country."

This follows a petition filed in court seeking to scrap the retirement age in public and private sectors.

The petitioner, a Nairobi resident, argues that the requirement is unlawful and undermines older Kenyans who seek to remain in the workforce even after attaining the required cap.

Currently, it is stipulated that Kenyans should retire at 60 and for people with disabilities at 65.

The petitioner says that one should only leave office if they exhibit laxity at work or suffer medical conditions that impede their productivity.