MOM to raise retirement and re-employment ages to 64 and 69 respectively in 2026
27 March 2024
On 4 March 2024, the Ministry for Manpower (“MOM”) announced initiatives to strengthen, uplift, and care for Singaporeans. Among other things, it was announced that the retirement and re-employment ages will be raised to 64 and 69 respectively in 2026. This is to support senior workers to continue working if they wish to do so and improve their retirement adequacy.
In her speech at the Committee of Supply 2024, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang stated that the Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993 protects senior workers from age-related dismissal before reaching the statutory retirement age. Employers must also offer re-employment to eligible senior workers up until the statutory re-employment age.
By way of background, the retirement and re-employment ages were raised to 63 and 68 respectively in 2022. The Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993 was also amended in 2022 to set the maximum possible statutory retirement age and re-employment age at 65 and 70 respectively. This will facilitate the eventual goal of setting retirement and re-employment ages at 65 and 70 respectively by 2030. For more information, please read our article “Retirement and re-employment ages under Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993 raised to 63 and 68”.
Minister Gan highlighted that senior workers have much expertise to contribute, but some may prefer to reduce their work intensity as they age. Workplaces with flexible work arrangement provisions will be better able to tap on the growing pool of senior workers. The Government will provide support to employers who want to improve their human resource capabilities to manage an ageing workforce.
Employers can tap on the Part-Time Re-employment Grant (“PTRG”) under which employers can enjoy up to S$125,000 in grant support. The PTRG also supports employers in implementing structured career planning (“SCP”), a process where employers systematically engage their employees and plan out their training and career development goals to align with business needs. This is particularly useful for employees who are approaching retirement. Through the PTRG, employers can access free training to learn how to conduct SCP with their employees. Employers can also receive support through the Senior Employment Credit which provides wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporean workers aged 60 and above.
Reference materials
The following materials are available on the MOM website www.mom.gov.sg: