Senior citizens chat at a retirement home in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

Some?civil servant?in their 50s in Central China's Hunan province have applied for early retirement. According the Civil Servant Law, officials retiring early can enjoy a higher pension than their salary. Shenzhennews.com commented on Monday:

The economic slowdown, tightening government budgets, and strict requirement for Party members to abide by the Party's rules, along with the on-going anti-corruption campaign, have all added to the pressure and workload of grassroots civil servants.

But not all of the applications for early retirement in Hunan will be approved, as approval is conditional. The applicant must have served in the government for more than 30 years, or at least 20 years for those who are within five years to the retirement age. And the final result is determined by the higher authority's examination and evaluation on a case-by-case basis.

The government must be prudent in its approval of early retirement, and it should make the whole process transparent for public supervision.

If the applicants try to dodge the probe into their pasts, their applications for early retirement should be taken as an important clue for further investigation, as they may be seeking to avoid being punished for corruption by retiring.

And if the applicants have not shown a due sense of dedication to fulfill their responsibilities, they should not be granted a pension higher than their previous salary. Indeed, their pensions should be reduced to spur other officials to be more efficient and dilige