Age doesn’t matter: Government extends re-employment for another 2 years

Grammy and gramps could don corpo attires again.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) brewed several plans for employees nearing retirement, including the move to extend the re-employment age from 65 to 67.

Health Minister Amy Khor outlined the projects in her speech during Parliament yesterday, the framework of which is based on Singapore’s ageing population and what can be done to counter the twilight of its workforce.

“We want to help them remain employed for as long as they are willing and able to work,” Khor said of the middle-aged PMEs nearing retirement.

Khor also clarified that the move to extend the re-employment age does not mean that employees cannot retire before they’re 67, and that the move is rationally based on the fact that Singaporeans these days have better healthcare and better lives.

Here’s more from the speech:

As we celebrate our nation’s golden jubilee next year, it is fitting that we reflect on our own golden years.

Can we be optimistic about ageing and change the way we think about growing old? Let me share a quote from the late Catholic writer Henri Nouwen – “ageing is not a reason for despair, but a basis for hope, not a slow decaying but a gradual maturing, not a fate to be undergone but a chance to be embraced.”

Let us not sit back and allow what some call the “Silver Tsunami” to overwhelm us.

Instead, we should choose to see the silver lining in the grey clouds, and see opportunity in longevity, so that we can build an empowering environment that we can all look forward to growing old in, and as envisioned by Minister Gan – our Nation for All Ages.