Sri Lanka, July 7 -- I wish to thank Mr. Sumith de Silva for his response to my letter of June 30 regarding the retirement age.

Mr. de Silva expresses the view that extending the retirement age would place an additional burden on pension funds. However, I respectfully disagree. In fact, a gradual increase in the retirement age would help ease the pressure on pension schemes.

When the retirement age of 60 was adopted, life expectancy in Sri Lanka was approximately 60 years for men and 64 years for women.

Today, life expectancy has risen to about 76 years for men and 81 years for women. As a result, pension funds are required to pay benefits for much longer periods than originally anticipated, placing them under increasing financial st...