The head of Germany's labour agency has called on Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to promote extended employment to age 70 for healthy employees who want to work longer.

Frank-Juergen Weise points to looming labour shortages and the current strong demand for skilled labour.

Since the beginning of 2012, the official retirement age has been incrementally rising from 65 and is expected to top out at 67 at the start of 2029.

Chancellor Merkel has lowered the retirement age to 63 for people with long employment histories and no academic training.