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Singapore- Reemployment age is raised as extension of 3% wage offset takes effect

01 December 2015

An extension of 3% wage offset will take effect as the Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced today that the re-employment age would be raised to 67 by 2017, in order to provide more opportunities for older workers who want to keep working as long as they are healthy.

The Government introduced an additional wage offset of up to 3% of wages for one year to encourage employers to hire workers aged 65 and above. For the first half of 2015, the government has paid out over $22 million to more than 49,000 employers who have employed 1100,000 Singaporeans aged 65 and above.

Tripartite partners are currently in discussion on the effective date of the new re-employment age of 67. Meanwhile, employers are encouraged to continue to re-employ older Singaporeans aged 65 and above.

The employment rate in Singapore has steadily risen. The employment rate of residents aged 25 to 64 rose to 80.5% in June 2015 compared to 79.7% the previous year. However, the unemployment rose for older residents aged 50 and over and non-degree holders amid slower employment growth.

Amid softer economic conditions, employment growth slowed down in 1H2015. It is expected for employment to grow at a slower pace in the next decade than in the previous five years.

The full report on Singapore’s workforce is available at http://stats.mom.gov.sg/.