Public school teachers may be able to carry on working until the age of 70 under proposed changes to the law tabled in the House of Assembly this morning.Currently teachers have to retire on their 65th birthday — regardless of when that date falls within the school year.But they will now have the option of working for another five years — if their request is approved by the head of the Civil Servcie. And on reaching retirement age they will also be able to work past their birthday and through to the end of the academic year.Presenting the Public Service Superannuation Amendment Act 2013, Finance Minister Bob Richards said that the change would bring teachers in line with civil servants, who currently are allowed to work beyond the age of 65.An explanatory memorandum to the bill reads: “In certain circumstances, with the permission of the head of the Civil Service, a teacher would be allowed to continue in their public service for a period of one or more further school years. The permission would be granted for a period of no more than one school year at a time, until no later than the end of the school year during which the teacher attains the age of 70.”Mr Richards pointed out that schools faced difficulties hiring teachers to replace staff who had been forced to retire at 65 midway through the school year.“The proposals make sense and are based on what is in the best interests of our students,” Mr Richards said.Shadow Finance Minister David Burt said the Opposition supported the amendment, although some Progressive labour MPs did voice concerns.PLP Deputy Leader Derrick Burgess described the bill as “piecemeal” and did not protect other employees from mandatory retirement.“Why are we discriminating against people in this country when most Court of Appeal judges have gone past 75,” he asked.“Members of the clergy can go to 75 and some go past that. We have consultants who are in their 80s. That’s okay, that’s fine, but Government workers have to get out at 65. That’s blatant discrimination. Why didn’t Government bring about a bill that abolishes age discrimination?”Independent MP Terry Lister questioned why a final decision on whether a teacher could remain in the job would be made by the head of the Civil Service, rather than a committee or teaching and medical professionals.“I really think that’s too much power in the hands of one person,” Mr Lister said.But Health and Seniors Minister Patricia Gordon Pamplin explained that there were “significant implications” to raising retirement age limits across the board.“It’s not just a matter of changing the age — we have to think this through, she said, adding that increased costs of insurance premiums would “raise exponentially”.She also pointed out that young people returning from university would have difficulty getting work in a stagnant job market if older employers were not leaving.The Bermuda Union of Teachers did not respond to requests for comment from this newspaper.