With the talk by the Government to increase the retirement age to even 68, this letter I wrote in 2007 is still quite relevant... :(
I refer to the report, 'Work longer to save for old age, says Boon Heng' (ST, Apr 30).
If Singapore wants to increase the number of older people in the workforce to '65 per cent of those aged 55 to 64 - roughly that of what Japan currently has', the government has to look into some very fundamental issues.
First, in Japan, companies have to tap the senior population to fill their workforce because there are strict laws governing the employment of foreigners.
We do not have such legislation in Singapore and with a liberal foreign talent policy in place; it will be quite difficult for the government to achieve its target of putting more senior citizens into the workforce.
Second, something must be fundamentally wrong with the society if one cannot retire after working for 30 to 40 years!
I can understand if a senior citizen is working beyond retirement age to stay healthy and to keep in touch with society. But if one has to work beyond retirement to keep a roof over his head and to keep the authorities from cutting off his utilities, then our social security savings plan, the Central Provident Fund (CPF), has failed to achieve its objective of providing working Singaporeans with 'a sense of security and confidence in their old age'.
Is the cost of public housing too high that one is left with virtually nothing to retire upon? Is the cost of living a major concern for senior citizens here?
Maybe the government should address these fundamental issues before asking older Singaporeans to work longer because it is meaningless to continue working for something you cannot afford in the first place.
(ST Forum, May 4, 2007)
I refer to the report, 'Work longer to save for old age, says Boon Heng' (ST, Apr 30).
If Singapore wants to increase the number of older people in the workforce to '65 per cent of those aged 55 to 64 - roughly that of what Japan currently has', the government has to look into some very fundamental issues.
First, in Japan, companies have to tap the senior population to fill their workforce because there are strict laws governing the employment of foreigners.
We do not have such legislation in Singapore and with a liberal foreign talent policy in place; it will be quite difficult for the government to achieve its target of putting more senior citizens into the workforce.
Second, something must be fundamentally wrong with the society if one cannot retire after working for 30 to 40 years!
I can understand if a senior citizen is working beyond retirement age to stay healthy and to keep in touch with society. But if one has to work beyond retirement to keep a roof over his head and to keep the authorities from cutting off his utilities, then our social security savings plan, the Central Provident Fund (CPF), has failed to achieve its objective of providing working Singaporeans with 'a sense of security and confidence in their old age'.
Is the cost of public housing too high that one is left with virtually nothing to retire upon? Is the cost of living a major concern for senior citizens here?
Maybe the government should address these fundamental issues before asking older Singaporeans to work longer because it is meaningless to continue working for something you cannot afford in the first place.
(ST Forum, May 4, 2007)
1 comments:
"I scared to get old - who will pay my mortgages, medical, children's edu etc. - important basic stuff. No enough SAVINGS - I can't work for leisure nor retire in grace (thou I am not brainless) - what so good about living here!" - L'mentations.....
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