Government launches early retirement and voluntary exit programmes for public servants
The government has announced a new Early Retirement Programme (ERP) and Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP) for public service employees.
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The government has announced a new Early Retirement Programme (ERP) and Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP) for public service employees.
Applications for the 2025/2026 ERP and VEP opened on 15 October 2025 and will close on 30 November 2025.
According to a determination by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), the programmes target employees aged 55 to 63, offering financial incentives and, for certain age groups, early retirement without pension penalties.
"A special cabinet meeting held on 10 April 2024 approved the introduction of early retirement without penalisation of pension benefits in terms of Section 16(6) of the Public Service Act 1994, as amended, and the voluntary exit programme for employees in the public service," the notice states.
"The approval by Cabinet includes an additional financial incentive for employees aged 55 to 59 years, calculated at two weeks’ basic salary per year for the first twenty years of pensionable service; and one".
The notice added that employees aged 60 to 63 who choose the Voluntary Exit Programme will receive a financial incentive calculated at two weeks’ basic salary per year for the first ten years of pensionable service, and one week per completed year thereafter.
It also stated that applications must be submitted to the relevant HR departments and approved by the Executive Authority, ensuring that service delivery is not disrupted.
"It must be noted that the authority to grant early retirement (ER) without pension penalties is vested within the relevant line department Executive Authority (EA) in terms of Section 16(6) of the Public Service Act (PSA), 1994, as amended or other sector legislation".
"This means that every EA has the discretion to approve or decline ERP requests for employees from the age of 55 to 59 years without pension penalties and VEP for employees aged 60 to 63, which are based on reasonable criteria set by the department"
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