64-year-old intern sparks debate: Should India rethink retirement after 60?

As India rethinks the future of work, conversations around retirement are shifting toward how organizations can better leverage experienced professionals in an evolving knowledge economy. Longer life expectancy, changing workforce dynamics, and increasing demand for specialized expertise are prompting companies to reconsider traditional retirement models.

Neelabh Shukla, Chief Business Officer, Careernet, said, “While around 73% of older Indians express interest in working after retirement, only 23.1% are employed after retirement. That is a massive pool of willing, experienced talent sitting on the sidelines, not by choice, but because the system is not built to retain them.”

He believes senior professionals also bring valuable institutional knowledge, leadership, and domain expertise that organizations often underestimate. He further pointed out that demand for experienced professionals is already growing across healthcare leadership, financial services, corporate governance, and strategic technology roles.

He also added, “The demand exists; what is missing is the formal infrastructure to effectively channel and leverage it.”