After the minimum retirement age was raised from 62 to 63, the employment rate of workers impacted increased by 0.4 percentage points compared with those not affected, The Straits Times reported, citing a recent study by Ministry of Manpower economists.
Similarly, lifting the re-employment age from 67 to 68 added 0.7 percentage points to the employment rate for those affected.
By 2024, the employment rate for seniors aged 65 to 69 stood at 49.1%, according to Channel News Asia.
In Singapore, employers must provide eligible workers who have reached the minimum retirement age with re-employment opportunities until they hit the statutory re-employment age, as long as they are medically fit and performing satisfactorily.
To measure the impact of the higher retirement age, the study followed about 180,000 residents born in 1959-61. A separate group of around 160,000 residents born in 1954-56 was tracked to assess the effects of the re-employment age increase.
According to the findings, seniors in knowledge-intensive roles, particularly in industries like manufacturing and wholesale trade, where employers might otherwise favor younger staff with newer skills, were among those who benefited more from the retirement age hike.
The change also delayed retirement for seniors living in larger flats and private homes, likely because they valued keeping their full pay and benefits for an additional year.
Nonetheless, the study said the boost in employment rate was not sustained as the retirement age for the affected group did not extend much beyond 63. A similar pattern was seen with the re-employment age, suggesting that the policy could postpone but not prevent seniors from leaving the workforce.
It was also found that the 2022 increase in the re-employment age had a comparable effect on employment as the 2017 raise from 65 to 67, indicating that the impact of the policy has not diminished, as reported by Singapore Business Review.
With longer life expectancy and a rapidly ageing population, the policy safeguards senior workers while giving them the option to stay employed and helping employers meet manpower needs, the study noted.
Next year, the city-state is set to hike the retirement and re-employment ages to 64 and 69, respectively, as part of a phased plan to raise them to 65 and 70 by 2030.
Heng Chee How, deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, had said that lifting the age limits is “the most impactful way” to strengthen seniors’ retirement adequacy, as quoted by The Business Times.
