More seniors staying employed after raising of retirement, re-employment ages in 2022

More seniors are staying in the workforce after Singapore raised the retirement age and re-employment age in 2022, noted a new study.

- Cheong Poh Kwan

It found that after the minimum retirement age rose from 62 to 63 from July 1, 2022, the employment rate for those affected went up by 0.4 percentage point over seniors not covered by the policy change.

Similarly, the increase in the re-employment age from 67 to 68 also raised the employment rate for affected seniors by 0.7 percentage point, according to the study by Manpower Ministry senior economist Yuen Wing Shan and lead economist Samuel Huang.

The study tracked the employment outcomes of about 180,000 residents born between 1959 and 1961 to assess the impact of raising the retirement age.

The effects of raising the re-employment age were examined by tracking around 160,000 residents born between 1954 and 1956.