RECALCULATING ROUTE

Changing your job in your later years can be challenging, but not impossible. Here are some who have done it

- Venessa Lee

When Mr Alan Chen, 57, changed careers in April 2025, it was not by choice.

After his 27-year career in IBM ended in December 2024, he received a severance package as part of a retrenchment exercise. His last position was regional human resources partner at the global technology company, where he also worked in areas like project management and business development.

He was optimistic about the future, even though the change was involuntary.

"Maybe it was a sign for me," he says. "It gave me the push to choose something I liked, which involved helping others. I looked forward to doing something different."

He is married to a 56-year-old marketing manager and the couple have three adult children in their 20s.

Certified as a personal trainer, Mr Chen has been volunteering over the past two years, conducting exercise sessions with different groups like seniors and children with autism.

Through a jobs portal at the Centre For Seniors, a non-profit that promotes the well-being and employability of older persons, he found full-time work as an executive at an Active Ageing Centre in Tampines, run by Lions Befrienders, a voluntary welfare organisation.

For the last three months, he has adapted well to his new sector, organising programmes and outreach services for seniors in the neighbourhood.

In switching to another line of work, he took a huge pay cut. His current salary is "not even 20 per cent" of his previous pay, but he had already adjusted his expectations. He has investment policies with payouts that will be disbursed until he is 70.

"Financially, I'm doing okay. This, to me, is a meaningful job," he says.

GROWING INTEREST IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR OLDER PEOPLE

Several organisations report that a growing number of older persons, who have not reached the official retirement age of 63, are showing interest in reskilling and other programmes geared towards career changes.