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Retain workers beyond age 65
HIGHER employment rates and more job opportunities for older workers cannot be brought about just by doing away with the retirement age, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng in Parliament yesterday.
He added that a "practical step-by-step approach" should be adopted, through practices such as re-employment and a flexible wage system. This will require a mindset change before Singapore can have a higher employment rate for seniors, he added.
He was responding to Nominated MP Laurence Wee and MP for West Coast GRC Ho Geok Choo's questions on the Government's stand on abolishing the retirement age.
In the Retirement Age Bill, which took effect in July 1993, the retirement age was set at 60. It as raised to 62 years in 1999. In 2012, "employers will be obligated to re-employ their older employees from the existing retirement age of 62 to 65, and, later, to 67 years and beyond", said Mr Lim.
Although the re-employment obligation applies only to employees aged up to 65, employers are encouraged to retain them beyond the retirement age as long as they can continue to contribute to their companies.
Mr Lim cited the United States as the only country he knew of which banned age-based discrimination in employment. The employment rate in the US for those aged 55 to 64 years was 61 per cent last year, compared to Singapore's 57 per cent.
This is because of the relatively lower employment rate among women in Singapore, Mr Lim said.
For males aged 55 to 64 years, the employment rate here was 74 per cent - higher than the US' 65 per cent. Among those aged 65 and above, the overall US employment rate was the same as Singapore's, at 16 per cent.
"This shows that our approach works well, even though it is different from the US'," Mr Lim said.
With the new legislation, employers will have greater flexibility, as they can redeploy older employees to jobs more suitable for them. Salaries and benefits can be adjusted in line with a worker's productivity.
More importantly, older workers need to take on modified jobs and go for skills upgrading or retraining, he added. "But the mindset change needs to extend beyond the employment sphere, and also goes beyond what the Government alone can do," he said. Mr Lim said that for many people, work gives meaning to their lives as it gives them a sense of self-esteem and worth.
He cited a Council for Third Age survey, where half the respondents indicated that they wanted to work part-time or full-time beyond age 62.
"More and more older people want to work, and we should support them," he said.
http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/Office/Story/A1Story20100817-232420.html
HIGHER employment rates and more job opportunities for older workers cannot be brought about just by doing away with the retirement age, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng in Parliament yesterday.
He added that a "practical step-by-step approach" should be adopted, through practices such as re-employment and a flexible wage system. This will require a mindset change before Singapore can have a higher employment rate for seniors, he added.
He was responding to Nominated MP Laurence Wee and MP for West Coast GRC Ho Geok Choo's questions on the Government's stand on abolishing the retirement age.
In the Retirement Age Bill, which took effect in July 1993, the retirement age was set at 60. It as raised to 62 years in 1999. In 2012, "employers will be obligated to re-employ their older employees from the existing retirement age of 62 to 65, and, later, to 67 years and beyond", said Mr Lim.
Although the re-employment obligation applies only to employees aged up to 65, employers are encouraged to retain them beyond the retirement age as long as they can continue to contribute to their companies.
Mr Lim cited the United States as the only country he knew of which banned age-based discrimination in employment. The employment rate in the US for those aged 55 to 64 years was 61 per cent last year, compared to Singapore's 57 per cent.
This is because of the relatively lower employment rate among women in Singapore, Mr Lim said.
For males aged 55 to 64 years, the employment rate here was 74 per cent - higher than the US' 65 per cent. Among those aged 65 and above, the overall US employment rate was the same as Singapore's, at 16 per cent.
"This shows that our approach works well, even though it is different from the US'," Mr Lim said.
With the new legislation, employers will have greater flexibility, as they can redeploy older employees to jobs more suitable for them. Salaries and benefits can be adjusted in line with a worker's productivity.
More importantly, older workers need to take on modified jobs and go for skills upgrading or retraining, he added. "But the mindset change needs to extend beyond the employment sphere, and also goes beyond what the Government alone can do," he said. Mr Lim said that for many people, work gives meaning to their lives as it gives them a sense of self-esteem and worth.
He cited a Council for Third Age survey, where half the respondents indicated that they wanted to work part-time or full-time beyond age 62.
"More and more older people want to work, and we should support them," he said.
http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/Office/Story/A1Story20100817-232420.html
