Josephine Teo: Updates on retirement, re-employment age likely by Sep 2019

Singapore's Manpower Minister Josephine Teo is confident that the public can receive updates on workers' retirement age and re-employment age by September this year.

She said this in a Facebook post yesterday (11 June), referring to statistics reported in Lianhe Zaobao about the increased healthy life expectancy of Singaporeans.

She shared: "I am encouraged by these statistics. People living longer and generally healthier lives is a key reason that they work longer - this is a trend that we observed across many developed countries. It reminds me of why we set up the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers.

Minister Teo added that since her announcement in March that a consensus has been reached to raise the retirement age and re-employment age, she is glad there has been "very good progress".

"It’s been a journey of learning together. Strong tripartite relations founded on trust has allowed us to avoid the kind of bickering we sometimes see elsewhere.

"Instead, we have been able to focus on making longevity productive for both workers and employers."

Recap on what was discussed during the Committee of Supply Debate

The Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers' three-point agreement on retirement and re-employment is as follows:

• The retirement age remains relevant and should go up beyond 62, given that locals enjoy more years of good health and remain productive at work. A higher retirement age will motivate both workers and employers to invest in skills upgrading and job redesign.
• The re-employment age remains useful and should also go up beyond 67.  Although most workers who are eligible get re-employed in the same job at the same pay, the flexibility to reset jobs and terms helps employers cope with business uncertainties.
• The increases in retirement age and re-employment age should be implemented in small steps over time. This is because employers will need to make considerable adjustments. They must plan ahead and step up efforts to make workplaces more age-friendly.

Read the full Facebook post below.

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Photo / Minister Teo's Facebook