All civil service retirements, including the early retirement severance packages, are to be based on average salary over the past two years.
This could result in a significant reduction in benefits for most civil servants, Mr Fanie Visser, of the Department of Public Service and Administration said.
However, as a phasing-in measure the greater of either the salary as at June 30 this year or the average salary over the past two years would be used as the base to calculate a monthly pension, giving existing civil servants some protection against the change.