SAGE Commission Chairman Brian Duperreault has defended its recommendation that Government implement its mandatory retirement age policy saying it would have the least economic impact on pension age civil servants and make room for others to move up Government’s career ladder.The recommendation caused some concern at senior’s advocacy group AGE Concern which warned that it could have unintended consequences and would retard the progress of human rights in Bermuda. But Mr Duppereault said the recommendation should be placed in its proper context as a “short term issue” to address a cost problem.“Its no statement that we think everyone should retire at 65. It’s a context statement that says mandatory retirement at 65 is the policy of the government, we’re saying adhere to that policy.”Government has indicated its intention to ban age discrimination in the workplace, and is researching the impact of the change on pensions and retirement. It has already relaxed the mandatory retirement policy for public school teachers who can now work until 70 with the consent of the head of the Civil Service — in line with the policy for civil servants.But in a cost-cutting deal with all public workers, Government is offering an incentive programme for early retirement targeted at the close to 500 public sector workers between 60 and 64.“If the policy should be changed, then address the policy. All we said was ‘that’s your policy, so stick to it’,” Mr Duperreault said. But he agreed that the financial impact of the recommendation was “not a big amount”.“Its just one suggestion among many for short term action — that’s all this was.”Mr Duppereault said the Commission did the necessary analysis but he was unwilling to provide concrete figures such as the financial impact of implementing the policy and its also unclear how many currently employed civil servants are 65 or over.Some high profile Government employees in their sixties are civil service head, Donald Scott, Assistant Cabinet Secretary Judith Hall-Bean, and Ellen Kate Horton who retired but was taken on again as a consultant.“This one has the least impact economically on the people who will be leaving the service because they have a pension,” he said.“That’s a reasonable thing to do. I don’t think its contradictory.”Mr Duperreault said he appreciated that the issue had stimulated discussion about Bermuda’s ageing population.“We are getting older. Its putting a big strain on our pensions. We have fewer and fewer younger people in our workforce. Our system is the young support the old. There are fewer young to support the old. There has to be certainly a dialogue about what this means to us as a community, and how we address pensions,” he said.“So this question of living longer and working longer is I think very important to us. And is particularly important with respect to the pension obligation we have.”