ANA to Raise Retirement Age to 65

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–All Nippon Airways plans to raise its retirement age for employees to 65, effective from April 2027, it was learned Wednesday. The major Japanese airline has proposed the change to its labor union. The new retirement age will be introduced if the two sides reach an agreement in negotiations. The move is aimed at enabling highly skilled senior employees to work with a sense of security and encouraging the transfer of skills to younger workers. All employees, including cabin attendants and pilots, will be subject to the change. Currently, workers aged 60 or older can enter annual re-employment contracts and work as nonregular employees until the age of 65. Re-employed workers’ annual pay is around 60 pct to 80 pct of what they earned at the age of 59. After the change, workers aged 60 or older will be regular employees with limited responsibilities and duties. Pilots, mechanics and other highly skilled workers with national qualifications will receive about 90 pct of what they earned before turning 60. About 1,500 people will be affected by the move in fiscal 2027, and labor costs are expected to increase by several billion yen per year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]