Kuala Lampur, Nov. 29 -- Malaysia is getting older faster than it is getting richer. By 2034 the country will cross the threshold into an "aged society," with more than 14 per cent of citizens over 65. The labour force is already shrinking, pension funds are under strain, and millions of workers arrive at 60 with savings too thin to last two more decades of life.

Against this backdrop the government is studying a rise in the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65. The idea has provoked loud objections mostly from the young, who fear blocked careers, and from older workers, who say they are tired. Yet when viewed through the cold lens of economics, the objections look less like iron laws and more like solvable design problems.

The most c...