Early Retirement Among Teachers In Malaysia:Perceptions And Impact On Teaching Profession

Abstract

While the official retirement age for most countries is 65, employees all around the globe retire considerably earlier on average. With the retirement of the baby boomers (1946-1964) and generation X (1965-1980), increasing life expectancy (72.81 years as of 2021), and the recurrent financial crisis, most countries indefinitely want to motivate their citizens to work longer. According to the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), the early retirement application of teachers annually can affect the quality of the education system. Even though a widespread early exit culture exists among teachers with teacher shortages nationwide, little attention has been given to its determinants. Hence, this preliminary study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of early retirement and its impact on the teaching profession. A qualitative method was conducted through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings showed that poor health, family concerns, poor organisational support, low motivation, excessive workload and online learning challenges influenced the premature retirement decision that impacted the teaching quality, teacher supply, education goals, student development, turnover intention and education funding. It is hoped that this study can maximise teacher retention and initiate education reform. Future research can further look into the post-retirement strategies employed by the teachers.