More than 50 Singaporean companies voluntarily raise retirement age

More than 50 employers in Singapore have got behind a recommendation that aims to keep senior workers in the workforce for longer. National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Ng Chee Meng has said the companies, including transport firm Comfort DelGro Group, have either raised the retirement age or no longer stipulate an age that workers must automatically retire.

The Singapore Government has set up a workgroup to look into how far and how fast the retirement and re-employment (where ongoing workers must be offered continuing employment) ages should be raised, beyond the current 62 and 67 respectively.

The tripartite workgroup, featuring representatives of unions, employers, and the government itself, is also studying the impact of Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for older workers.

There have been calls for CPF contribution rates for older workers to be kept at the same levels as those of younger workers. Currently, the overall CPF contribution rate is 37% for workers up to 55 years old. But it drops progressively after that, falling to just 12.5% for those above 65.