MOM Committee of Supply 2024: Singapore to increase retirement age to 64 & re-employment age to 69 in 2026

"This will bring us another step closer to our eventual goal of setting retirement and re-employment ages at 65 and 70 respectively by 2030", Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang shares.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in Singapore announced several updates at the Committee of Supply (COS) 2024 debates, focusing on three themes: 

• Strengthening you 
• Uplifting you 
• Caring for you 

including the increase in the age of retirement and re-employment age to 64 and 69 respectively in 2026. 

In a speech detailing the last theme, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang shared that given the slow workforce growth and the ageing population evident in Singapore, the Ministry wants to ensure that all members, particularly senior workers, "contribute as much as they are able to, for as long as they wish."

Retirement/Re-employment age increment to 64/69 in 2026

In that vein, it was announced that the tripartite partners have agreed to raise the retirement and re-employment ages further to 64 and 69 respectively, in 2026, collectively bringing Singapore another step closer to achieving its goal of bringing the retirement and re-employment ages to 65 & 70 respectively by 2030.  

This increment comes after the previous raise in 2022, with the retirement and re-employment ages being 63 and 68 respectively. 

MOS Gan commented: "To ensure that the next increase is implemented just as smoothly, I encourage employers to start planning early.

"Some will need to adjust their manpower and upskilling plans to retain their senior workers.

"This is why we are taking a stepped approach and announcing the increase early.

"Come 2026, employers who have prepared well will be better placed to tap on their senior workforce to meet their business needs," she added.

MOS Gan also noted that the rate for employment for seniors ages 65 and 69, in comparison to OECD countries, is now ranked third, indicating an increase from 43.8% in 2018 to 48.3% in 2023. 

Further, the employment rate for younger seniors aged between 55 to 64 also rose, from 66.8% in 2018 to 70.0% in 2023. 

Welcoming the increase in a Facebook post, NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How affirmed that the most impactful way to boost older workers' retirement adequacy is to extend their effective working years, noting that this will provide ample time for both employers and older workers to make necessary preparations.

He added: "This is definitely a step in the right direction as we are already halfway through our agreed goals of the retirement and re-employment ages of 65 and 70 respectively for 2030."

Part-time Re-employment Grant (PTRG)

Following the above announcement, MOS Gan assured employers that the Government will provide support to employers who want to improve their HR capabilities to manage an ageing workforce.

To that effect, she encouraged employers to tap on the Part-time Re-employment Grant (PTRG), which was extended in 2023 to support more flexible work options for senior workers, allowing employers to benefit from up to S$125,000 in grant support under this scheme. 

"As of December 2023, with the support of the PTRG, more than 6,300 employers committed to provide part-time re-employment under their HR policy.

"This is expected to benefit around 50,000 senior workers." MOS Gan stated. 

The PTRG will also support employers in implementing structured career planning (SCP), a process whereby employers systematically engage their employees and plan out their training and career development goals to align with business needs.

Through the PTRG, employers can access free training to learn how to conduct SCP with their employees.

Senior Employment Credit

Similarly, employers can also receive support through the Senior Employment Credit (SEC), a scheme which will provide wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporean workers for those aged 60 and over. 

According to MOS Gan, a total of S$315mn was disbursed in 2023, benefitting 90,000 employers that hired 400,000 senior workers.

 "Senior workers must also keep pace with changes in the labour market and be open to learning new skills or trying out new roles."

MOS Gan Siow Huang

TG-FWAR updates

Alongside the announcement, MOS Gan also touched on the upcoming Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR).. 

Addressing a concern raised in Parliament on employers needing to manage FWA requests while ensuring their workplaces remain harmonious and productive, MOS Gan said: "In designing such a process, Tripartite Partners too felt that it was important to avoid creating a litigious workplace culture that could cause more disputes.

"Instead of taking a legislative approach, we will use Tripartite Guidelines to set out how employees should request FWAs, as well as how employers should consider these requests and communicate the outcome properly. These Guidelines will be mandatory. Most importantly, we must maintain workplace trust and harmony during the process."

She added that the Workgroup has been consulting with stakeholders on the scope of the Guidelines and will finalise its recommendations soon.

Apart from the above, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) and Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) will enhance training and resources for supervisors and HR practitioners to implement FWAs effectively and redesign jobs to accommodate FWAs. 

Employment support for women, caregivers & persons with disabilities 

Caregivers

MOS Gan ended her speech by sharing other efforts to support the employment of caregivers returning to the workforce, particularly women:

• The employment rate for women age between 25 to 64 has increased from 72.3% in 2018 to 76.6% in 2023. However, there are still fewer women in high-paying occupations, likely due to women needing to take time off work to prioritise caregiving. 
• The Career initiative, launched by Workforce Singapore (WSG) in June 2022, brought together employment facilitation programmes to support female jobseekers. Since then, WSG has been workshops in collaboration with partners to support women in returning to work and has engaged nearly 16,000 women at its career events.

Persons with disabilities 

In 2023, the Enabling Employment Credit, or EEC, which provides wage offsets to employers hiring persons with disabilities, aimed to support those who have not been in work for at least six months. Last year, more than 10,000 persons with disabilities benefitted from this scheme.

"The employment rate for persons with disabilities has increased steadily to 33% in 2022-2023.

"This moves us closer to the target of 40% by 2030 under the Enabling Masterplan 2030." Minister Gan commented. 

MOS Gan also shared that MOM will work closely with NTUC & SNEF to develop a Tripartite Advisory to guide employers on modifying jobs and workplaces to support persons with disabilities.

The Government is committed to enabling more progressive and inclusive workplaces, where everyone can contribute meaningfully according to their unique strengths and interests. We will work hand-in-hand with tripartite partners, employers and workers to secure a brighter future for all.

"The Government is committed to enabling more progressive and inclusive workplaces, where everyone can contribute meaningfully according to their unique strengths and interests. We will work hand-in-hand with tripartite partners, employers and workers to secure a brighter future for all."

MOS Gan Siow Huang

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Lead image / MOM