Amsterdam - The Netherlands may raise the legal age of retirement from 65 to 67, anonymous government sources told the media on Tuesday as politicians continued talks on special measures to stimulate the economy.

The measure would be one of several proposed by the government in an attempt to free money needed to invest in the Dutch economy to fight the ongoing crisis.

The government coalition parties Christian Democrats, Labour and Christian Union have for more than three weeks been discussing special measures to stimulate the economy.

So far, no formal announcement has been made about the contents of the negotiations. On Tuesday, faction leaders of the three parties told reporters an agreement on principles was about to be reached.

Christian Democrats and Christian Union representatives confirmed the government would make substantial investments in an attempt to revive the economy. As of 2011, budget cuts are planned to lower the budget deficit.

Coalition parties were due to discuss the proposed special measures with the leading labour unions and employers associations later Tuesday, in an attempt to reach a consensus on the government proposals before their official publication.

The largest labour union FNV already announced it would not agree with the raising of the legal retirement age. (dpa)