Elder Singaporeans asked to work longer | Jorbb.com

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Thursday calls on Singaporeans to work as long as they can and keep themselves occupied after formal retirement to adjust to longer lifespan.

The prime minister said in a conference on reinventing retirement that because a larger proportion of the country's population will be elderly, people will have to re-calibrate the balance of work and retirement.

"People today are healthier and the nature of work has changed. We can continue to lead active and useful lives well into our old age," he said.

He said that demographic trends will require people to make adjustments both as individuals and as a society.

Individuals will have to rethink what retirement means to them, and the society will have to develop new arrangements to enable every individual to enjoy a productive, dignified life into his senior years.

The prime minister said that Singapore is going for a more flexible and practical approach, "We are legislating not to further delay the retirement age, but to require employers to offer re-employment to workers at 62 for another three years until65, though not necessarily in the same job or at the same pay," he said.

Lee said the employment rate of Singaporean workers aged 55 to 64 has risen steadily, and the government aims to push it up from 57 percent in 2008 to 65 percent by 2012.

By 2030, one fifth of Singapore's population will be 65 years and older, which is nearly one million people, three times the number today.

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