SINGAPORE: As Singapore's population ages, the government, unions and employers are joining forces to review and revamp strategies for senior employment.
A new Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment will develop policy recommendations to help senior workers remain productive and employable, and promote age-friendly jobs and workplaces.
The workgroup will be set up this year and will also convene an Alliance for Action to explore multi-stage careers for mature workers, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon said in parliament on Friday (Mar 7).
This comes as Singapore's labour force participation rate fell for the third year in a row, primarily because seniors are making up a larger proportion of residents. In 2024, the labour force participation rate for residents aged 15 and above stood at 68.2 per cent, down from 68.6 per cent in 2023 and 70 per cent in 2022.
"Our population is ageing, and seniors today are living longer and healthier lives. We want to enable seniors to continue working if they wish to, so that they can contribute their expertise and accumulate more savings for retirement.
"This will also help employers meet manpower needs in a tight labour market," said Dr Koh.
While Singapore's labour force participation rate for those aged 60 to 69 was 59.7 per cent last year – placing it among the top five Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries – many seniors were leaving the workforce before 65, often in their 50s.
The labour force participation rate falls from 86 per cent for those aged 50 to 54 to 67.9 per cent for those aged 60 to 64 – a significant decrease of about 18 percentage points.
"This is due to various reasons," said Dr Koh. "Some wish to slow down and focus on family or personal commitments. Others have not worked for some time and may need to refresh their skills to return to the workforce."
To address these challenges, the tripartite workgroup will explore how to tailor career services for seniors, such as by having Workforce Singapore and its partners provide career guidance workshops for those aged 50 and above.
It will also look at how jobs and workplaces can support multi-stage careers, where workers can adjust their workloads based on personal needs and aspirations. Among the ideas under review is fractional work, where seniors who are experts in their fields offer specialised skills on a part-time basis rather than as full-time employees.
"With longer working lives, workers will need to continually upkeep their skills and remain open to trying new things in their late-stage careers," said Dr Koh.
The workgroup will be co-chaired by Dr Koh, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) vice-president Tan Hwee Bin.
Additionally, the Alliance for Action on multi-stage careers for mature workers will engage various stakeholders, including seniors and management and human resources professionals, to generate ideas.
It will also work with employers to prototype solutions to support senior employment. Participating employers will receive funding and consultancy support for this, Dr Koh said.
These initiatives are part of broader measures in Budget 2025 aimed at supporting senior workers.
Among them, Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for those above 55 to 65 will be raised by 1.5 percentage points in 2026, in line with the gradual increase recommended by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers.
This will bring the CPF contribution rate for workers aged above 55 to 60 to 34 per cent – 3 percentage points below the government's 37 per cent target.
For those aged above 60 to 65, the CPF contribution rate will rise to 25 per cent, which is 1 percentage point shy of the 26 per cent target.
To help with business costs, employers will get a one-year CPF transition offset equivalent to half of the 2026 increase in employer CPF contributions for workers aged above 55 to 65.
The Ministry of Manpower will also extend the Senior Employment Credit by a year to 2026. The scheme gives wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporeans aged 60 and above, and who earn under S$4,000 a month.
As the re-employment age will be raised to 69 in 2026, the qualifying age for the highest wage support tier of 7 per cent will also go up from 68 to 69.
More than 117,000 employers hiring over 514,000 senior workers have benefited from Senior Employment Credit since it was launched in 2021, and around S$1 billion has been disbursed, said Dr Koh.
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A new Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment will develop policy recommendations to help senior workers remain productive and employable, and promote age-friendly jobs and workplaces.
The workgroup will be set up this year and will also convene an Alliance for Action to explore multi-stage careers for mature workers, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon said in parliament on Friday (Mar 7).
This comes as Singapore's labour force participation rate fell for the third year in a row, primarily because seniors are making up a larger proportion of residents. In 2024, the labour force participation rate for residents aged 15 and above stood at 68.2 per cent, down from 68.6 per cent in 2023 and 70 per cent in 2022.
"Our population is ageing, and seniors today are living longer and healthier lives. We want to enable seniors to continue working if they wish to, so that they can contribute their expertise and accumulate more savings for retirement.
"This will also help employers meet manpower needs in a tight labour market," said Dr Koh.
While Singapore's labour force participation rate for those aged 60 to 69 was 59.7 per cent last year – placing it among the top five Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries – many seniors were leaving the workforce before 65, often in their 50s.
The labour force participation rate falls from 86 per cent for those aged 50 to 54 to 67.9 per cent for those aged 60 to 64 – a significant decrease of about 18 percentage points.
"This is due to various reasons," said Dr Koh. "Some wish to slow down and focus on family or personal commitments. Others have not worked for some time and may need to refresh their skills to return to the workforce."
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To address these challenges, the tripartite workgroup will explore how to tailor career services for seniors, such as by having Workforce Singapore and its partners provide career guidance workshops for those aged 50 and above.
It will also look at how jobs and workplaces can support multi-stage careers, where workers can adjust their workloads based on personal needs and aspirations. Among the ideas under review is fractional work, where seniors who are experts in their fields offer specialised skills on a part-time basis rather than as full-time employees.
"With longer working lives, workers will need to continually upkeep their skills and remain open to trying new things in their late-stage careers," said Dr Koh.
The workgroup will be co-chaired by Dr Koh, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) vice-president Tan Hwee Bin.
Additionally, the Alliance for Action on multi-stage careers for mature workers will engage various stakeholders, including seniors and management and human resources professionals, to generate ideas.
It will also work with employers to prototype solutions to support senior employment. Participating employers will receive funding and consultancy support for this, Dr Koh said.
Related:
CPF CONTRIBUTION RATE FOR OLDER WORKERS
These initiatives are part of broader measures in Budget 2025 aimed at supporting senior workers.
Among them, Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for those above 55 to 65 will be raised by 1.5 percentage points in 2026, in line with the gradual increase recommended by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers.
This will bring the CPF contribution rate for workers aged above 55 to 60 to 34 per cent – 3 percentage points below the government's 37 per cent target.
For those aged above 60 to 65, the CPF contribution rate will rise to 25 per cent, which is 1 percentage point shy of the 26 per cent target.
To help with business costs, employers will get a one-year CPF transition offset equivalent to half of the 2026 increase in employer CPF contributions for workers aged above 55 to 65.
The Ministry of Manpower will also extend the Senior Employment Credit by a year to 2026. The scheme gives wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporeans aged 60 and above, and who earn under S$4,000 a month.
As the re-employment age will be raised to 69 in 2026, the qualifying age for the highest wage support tier of 7 per cent will also go up from 68 to 69.
More than 117,000 employers hiring over 514,000 senior workers have benefited from Senior Employment Credit since it was launched in 2021, and around S$1 billion has been disbursed, said Dr Koh.
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