Who is lying? Which poll to believe?

[firehyrant]

MS Polls: 96% of respondents disagree with PM Wong saying that people in S’pore want to work longer​

FEATURED LATEST NEWS MS POLLS SINGAPORE

Some are worried about burnout should they need to work to an old age.

By Trixy Toh - 6 Mar 2025, 5:31 pm

In a January dialogue, Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong said that most people in Singapore want to work longer as long as they remain healthy.

He cited surveys stating that Singapore’s rising longevity is a reason why people would want to do so.

“Because a lot of people recognise that the minute they stop working, that’s when their health deteriorates very quickly,” added PM Wong.

In a recent poll by Answers.sg with 6,198 respondents, however, a stark 96% disagreed with PM Wong’s statement.

The remaining 4% had votes ranging from neutral, agree and strongly agree.

Are people in Singapore working longer?​

While Singapore’s ageing population continues to grow, the demographic of the nation’s elderly is also shifting.

People in the Lion City are reportedly ageing healthier and tend to have attained higher education statuses, making them more affluent than earlier cohorts.

In 2026, one in five Singaporeans is expected to be 65 years old or older. By 2030, one in four will be aged 65 and above.

The statistics support PM Wong’s statement about citizens’ rising longevity, and follows the government’s work in preparing for an ageing nation.

For example, retirement and re-employment ages have been progressively raised since 2022 to support older Singaporeans who wish to continue working.

It will be raised to 65 and 70 years old respectively by 2030, reported the Straits Times (ST).

People are working longer, but not because they want to​

That said, there are other reasons why those in Singapore are working even past the national retirement age of 64.

40-year-old L. Jung told MS News that people here are working longer, “but not because we want to.”

Ms Jung, who has been a preschool teacher for about 20 years, said that majority of people in Singapore including herself have to work longer to “stay afloat financially or live comfortably”.

While Singaporeans have been fortunate enough to receive occasional government handouts such as CDC vouchers, these are not always sufficient as living costs keep going up.

In order to maintain a certain standard of living, afford healthcare and basic necessities, working longer in Singapore is thus inevitable.

Retiree struggled to find purpose at work​

65-year-old E. Toh chose to retire at 62 years old, which is below Singapore’s current retirement age of 64.

Mr Toh shared with MS News that he has worked since finishing National Service (NS) at 22 years old.

“I couldn’t find anything worthwhile, nothing was worth putting in the time. I had enough savings and could afford to retire, so I did,” said Mr Toh.

The retiree is not alone in his struggle for purpose at work.

A 2024 report by Manpower Group titled “The quest for meaning at work”, polled 2,023 participants across Southeast Asian countries about what meaningful work means to today’s workforce.

The survey — which included 494 respondents from Singapore — found that 97% of Singaporeans value meaning at work, and 51% plan to take action to achieve it.

However, the report revealed only 20% are “very satisfied” with the level of purpose in their job position at the time.

Working longer may negatively affect mental health​

For some Singaporean workers who disagree with PM Wong’s statement, mental health comes up as an issue.

Ben Tan, an office worker based in Singapore, told MS News that his job requires him to work long hours and meet tight deadlines.

Freshly graduated from university, the 24-year-old has only been working for six months and it has already taken a toll on his health.

Ben finds himself sacrificing his health for work — especially in terms of sleep.

The lack of sleep and tremendous amount of stress then “trickles down to affect [my] mental health”, he said.

Retiree Mr Toh also recalled “very pressuring and stressful situations at work” when he was at the senior management level in the building materials industry.

He also mentioned friends in certain industries who suffered the “detrimental effects” of their jobs.

A friend of his was “offered a promotion but turned it down and quit his job soon after,” he shared.

The friend’s mentor had died from a heart attack shortly before the promotion offer.

Another superior suffered a stroke and had to receive care in the ICU.

According to ST, four in 10 employees report facing high mental health risks and nearly half experience moderate risk.

One in three fresh graduates may already be struggling with severe symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress.

Addressing mental health in a speech on the Motion on Advancing Mental Health in Feb 2024, PM Wong noted that attitudes towards the issue have shifted for the better.

“People are more informed about mental health, and more willing to talk about this openly,” he said.

How do we achieve work-life balance?​

In such a fast-paced society like Singapore though, people are bound to burn out.

But due to the high costs of living, most citizens might have no choice but to keep working.

While work-life balance seems to be an elusive dream, many are trying to find a balance to spur them on.

Some have even resigned from their jobs to improve their work-life balance.

In a 2024 study by Randstand — which surveyed 173,000 respondents around the world, including 2,602 individuals in Singapore — 41% have resigned from their jobs to improve their work-life balance.

Despite all the negative effects of working, 24-year-old Ben feels useful for contributing to society in his current role.

“But I don’t live to work, I work to live,” he said.

Meanwhile Mr Toh is of the opinion that people are working longer as it is a matter of livelihood instead of preference.

So, how can people in Singapore find this balance between work and life?

65-year-old Mr Toh believes that it is crucial to manage stress and emotions, as getting overly anxious doesn’t solve problems.

“It is important to be resting and eating sufficiently and well, and to maintain a regular exercise regime.”

 

[mojito]

Still need me to tell u? Oppies are liars!

 

[WangChuk]

All those Polls conducted by the companies paid by their client cannot be trusted .... the results are all pre-set and the polling tools designed to obtain all those preset datas ....

 

[sbfuncle]

This topic I had already done my due diligence before I threw the towel.

Who is lying?
Answer is no one is lying. If have is they lied to themselves. After they lied to themselves they simply tell others about their lies. Hence that's not really lying.

There are many different types of people, all having different perspectives.

LW said people want to work longer is becos he himself wants to work longer so he thought many people are like himself.
Those miws want to work longer becos of the good salary, the sense of achievement and purpose in life to have power over people. So this group of people money is not the actual factor.

Majority of sinkies doesn't want to work longer. But becos they doesn't feel comfortable retiring with the savings they have, and they doesn't feel comfortable to let go the luxury they are having while working, so they lied to themselves that they will get bore at home. If they had really counted their savings, they can actually live the same life of luxuries as they would have been working.
My aunt is a very good example of such group.
She is already over 70 but becos her income is good (abt 7k) considering her merdeka gen with not much educational background, and the job is relatively simple, besides having to forgo her freedom of life, she just doesn't want to let go of her job. In fact she even always complain to me, aiya tmr need to take wake up, headache etc but the reason she told me why she doesn't want to retire is becos she will get bore without the daily routine and now she feel very comfortable drawing and spending the salary without needing to think. I estimated her net worth to be at least sgd 5m based on the pte properties and savings + cpf. I then asked her why you want to exchange your freedom eg headache of waking up early etc with the $7k salary, she just kept quiet. My answer to it is that she just doesn't want her savings to be depleted a single cent. Well her 2 grown up married sons will be the most beneficial with such a parent.
I believe there are a big % of middle income families that fall into this group.

As for my cohorts, the lower income bracket, an uncle who earns about the same kind of salary as me throughout his life, but older than me by half a decade, simply cannot retire is becos his savings need to be divided by 2, to feed a home maker wife. But he lied to himself and told me he will get bore at home.

As for those old aunties and uncles cleaning tables and collecting card boards, some of them are really doing it to survive, while some are really doing as a exercise. And some are actually hoarders, so even they doesn't need to money they still collect cardboard.

As for myself, I'm very clear minded person. I know a human lifespan is limited and even I were to continue working in the corporate world for the next 10 years, my salary will not be able to change my lifestyle in any sense, so what for i continue to be a slave eventually I just call it a day.

KNN

 

[sbfuncle]

This topic I had already done my due diligence before I threw the towel.

Who is lying?
Answer is no one is lying. If have is they lied to themselves. After they lied to themselves they simply tell others about their lies. Hence that's not really lying.

There are many different types of people, all having different perspectives.

LW said people want to work longer is becos he himself wants to work longer so he thought many people are like himself.
Those miws want to work longer becos of the good salary, the sense of achievement and purpose in life to have power over people. So this group of people money is not the actual factor.

Majority of sinkies doesn't want to work longer. But becos they doesn't feel comfortable retiring with the savings they have, and they doesn't feel comfortable to let go the luxury they are having while working, so they lied to themselves that they will get bore at home. If they had really counted their savings, they can actually live the same life of luxuries as they would have been working.
My aunt is a very good example of such group.
She is already over 70 but becos her income is good (abt 7k) considering her merdeka gen with not much educational background, and the job is relatively simple, besides having to forgo her freedom of life, she just doesn't want to let go of her job. In fact she even always complain to me, aiya tmr need to take wake up, headache etc but the reason she told me why she doesn't want to retire is becos she will get bore without the daily routine and now she feel very comfortable drawing and spending the salary without needing to think. I estimated her net worth to be at least sgd 5m based on the pte properties and savings + cpf. I then asked her why you want to exchange your freedom eg headache of waking up early etc with the $7k salary, she just kept quiet. My answer to it is that she just doesn't want her savings to be depleted a single cent. Well her 2 grown up married sons will be the most beneficial with such a parent.
I believe there are a big % of middle income families that fall into this group.

As for my cohorts, the lower income bracket, an uncle who earns about the same kind of salary as me throughout his life, but older than me by half a decade, simply cannot retire is becos his savings need to be divided by 2, to feed a home maker wife. But he lied to himself and told me he will get bore at home.

As for those old aunties and uncles cleaning tables and collecting card boards, some of them are really doing it to survive, while some are really doing as a exercise. And some are actually hoarders, so even they doesn't need to money they still collect cardboard.

As for myself, I'm very clear minded person. I know a human lifespan is limited and even I were to continue working in the corporate world for the next 10 years, my salary will not be able to change my lifestyle in any sense, so what for i continue to be a slave eventually I just call it a day.

KNN

Or perhaps everyone is lying.
Be like me, be clear minded and honest to yourself
We worked our life, we save and we retire when the time is ripe. Our life span is vulnerable and limited
Linking boredom to working is absurd. Boredom cannot be replaced by work.
There is nothing in this world that can win over freedom.