Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned in this year's National Day Rally that the re-employment age will be raised from 65 to 67 by 2017.
"Many people who are in their 60s want to work longer. They say, “If I sit at home and do nothing, I will go ga-ga. Furthermore, my wife will tell me to go and do something about it." So we raised the re-employment age to 65 three years ago. And the unions and workers were very happy. I think the employers have accepted it. They are adjusting to it and starting to benefit from it. It’s still too early to judge but so far, it seems to be working well.
From the workers’ point of view, 65 may be too early to stop work. Workers want us to raise the re-employment age and they want to keep working for as long as they are healthy. I hear this every time I attend a union function. I reply, “Yes, I agree fully. We will do it, we have choose a right time to do it because we want to make sure that the employers have the practical arrangements, and you can make a contribution at your company and it will not be a burden to the company.” Otherwise it’s not sustainable. But we have been working at this problem. The tripartite partners have been discussing this and I am happy to tell you that they have reached an agreement. And the agreement is that we will pass legislation to raise the re-employment age from 65 to 67. We will do it by 2017, in other words, after the coming election."
- PM Lee Hsien Loong, National Day Rally 2015 Speech (Excerpt)
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"Retirement age" has been pushed back time and time again.
People often associate retirement age with re-employment age. There is a difference between Retirement age and Re-employment age. Under the Singapore's Retirement and Re-employment Act, the minimum retirement age is 62 years. However, employers are required to offer re-employment to eligible employees who turn 62, up to age 65 (soon to be 67), to continue their employment in the organisation. There are, of course, eligibility criteria for re-employment.
Hello! You can retire when you want to! It can be 45, 55, or 62. If you want to retire at 45, you better have a damn solid plan.
This raises many questions.
Hello! You can retire when you want to! It can be 45, 55, or 62. If you want to retire at 45, you better have a damn solid plan.
This raises many questions.
Will I be working till 67? Or will I be forced to work till 67?
Why are the workers asking the Government to raise the re-employment age?
Is it not being able to retire at 62?
Or is it just wanting to contribution more and kill boredom?
Why are the workers asking the Government to raise the re-employment age?
Is it not being able to retire at 62?
Or is it just wanting to contribution more and kill boredom?
I hope it is the latter.
So will I be working till 67?
Some of the factors I believe will keep most working:
1. Most of us will require at least 80% of our pre-retirement income when we retire. To maintain the lifestyle post retirement, 80% should be the bare minimum and most might not have that.
2. The CPF (Social Security) Life monthly payout starts at 65. Imagine having bills to pay but there is a sudden stop of income. I was unemployed for 4 months while searching for a job. It was pretty painful.
3. Servicing their mortgage loan.
4. Supporting their children through University.
To sum up, if the expenditure ($) is still more than any source of income, people will still have to be employed.
It all boils down to how well prepared you are for your retirement.
Do you have any passive income?
Read: Passive Income > Active Income
If I continue to build my passive income, I should be able to retire earlier. But what will retirement be like for me?
Some of the factors I believe will keep most working:
1. Most of us will require at least 80% of our pre-retirement income when we retire. To maintain the lifestyle post retirement, 80% should be the bare minimum and most might not have that.
2. The CPF (Social Security) Life monthly payout starts at 65. Imagine having bills to pay but there is a sudden stop of income. I was unemployed for 4 months while searching for a job. It was pretty painful.
3. Servicing their mortgage loan.
4. Supporting their children through University.
To sum up, if the expenditure ($) is still more than any source of income, people will still have to be employed.
It all boils down to how well prepared you are for your retirement.
Do you have any passive income?
Read: Passive Income > Active Income
If I continue to build my passive income, I should be able to retire earlier. But what will retirement be like for me?
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