New law to re-employ older workers by 2017

New legislation to increase the age of re-employment of older workers to 67 will be introduced by 2017, the Ministry of Manpower has announced today.

Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin revealed the new law will be in place by 2017 to allow markets and businesses enough time to transition to the new requirements, Channel NewsAsia reported.

He added the transition time needed is significantly shorter than the five to six years needed when the law was first announced to raise the re-employment age from 62 to 65.

Tan said discussions are being held with employers and union in preparation of the new legislation, and incentives will be implemented to support businesses which voluntarily offer re-employment to older workers. The details of these incentives will be discussed at a later date.

Current incentives include WorkPro funding to help employers recruit, train and retain mature workers and back-to-work locals.

Increasing from 57% in 2009 to 65% last year, the employment rate for older workers is expected to continue rising steadily with the implementation of the new law.

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