More details will be announced by September, says manpower minister
Come September, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will announce a review of Singapore’s retirement and re-employment ages.
While the tripartite workgroup reviews the guidelines for employers, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo recently revealed the current ratio of silver workers in Singapore’s workforce.
In the parliamentary session, Teo was also questioned how the government will encourage employers to hire older employees before considering foreign workers to fill up job vacancies.
According to MOM, the wholesale trade sector employed the most number of residents aged 55 and over in 2018. This sector includes businesses such as brand owners, distributors of other companies’ brands, trading arms of manufacturers and retailers, and large commodities trading houses.
Teo shared that silver workers accounted for 23% of the total number of employees within the sector. Overall across industries, silver workers made up about 24% of the workforce in Singapore.
The minister said existing pro-senior measures have “encouraged and supported companies” in hiring older Singaporeans.
“Over the years, our employment rates of senior workers or residents aged 55 to 64 years have improved significantly,” she said. “It grew from 57% in 2008 to 67% in 2018, and ranks favourably compared to OECD countries.”
Last year, to address the needs of Singapore’s growing ageing population, MOM announced that the tripartite workgroup would convene and tackle concerns faced by older workers.
They were tasked to study what makes older workers feel valued as well as whether enough is done to help workers meet their retirement needs.
The workgroup is an initiative led by advisors from MOM, NTUC, and Singapore National Employers Federation.
The new guidelines in September will offer closure for a long-held contentious discussion on Singapore’s mandatory retirement age.
