Putin Wants to Raise Top Age for Officials to 70

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 5, 2012 (Issue # 1725)

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin has introduced legislation to the State Duma that would raise the maximum age at which officials could still be employed by the state from 65 to 70.

Changes would be made to article 25.1 of the Law on State Service, allowing those older than 65 to continue in their government jobs with the personal approval of the president.

The move is designed to “preserve top, highly qualified personnel in the civil service,” according to the Kremlin, Interfax reported Tuesday.

The average life expectancy in Russia in 2012 is predicted to be 76 years for women and 64 years for men, according to the State Statistics Service.

In 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev fixed the upper age limit for civil servants at 60, with special exceptions possible up to the age of 65.

Putin himself turns 60 in October and, if he were to win a fourth term as president in 2018, he would be 71 by the end of that term. At that point he would be obliged to stand down as head of state due to consecutive term limits set by the constitution.

The move by the Kremlin follows a proposal by Putin in May to remove all age restrictions for the post of chairman of the Supreme Court and his deputies. The current chairman is Vyacheslav Lebedev, who will turn 69 this year.