South Africa’s government has drafted an early retirement offer for civil servants, part of an effort to reduce its wage bill, according to people familiar with the matter.

State workers aged between 55 and 60 could be offered two weeks’ pay for every year they have worked up to a maximum of 20 years, and one week’s pay for every year they have been employed after that, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Any penalties usually incurred by those taking early retirement will likely be waived, they said.

The National Treasury is in a closed period until after the presentation of the annual budget on Wednesday and didn’t immediately respond to questions.

If adopted, the early retirement plan would be available over the next two years and about 30 000 people could take up the packages, the people said. Priority will be given to applications from staff at government departments confronting more severe budgetary pressures, they added.

Any offer will be tabled at the Public Sector Bargaining Council Chamber, the people said. In October last year, the Treasury said it was setting aside R11-billion to fund early retirement, with more details to be released in the budget.

The government’s wage bill accounts for more than a third of its total expenditure, crowding out spending on other priorities. Previous early retirement offers had limited take-up.