S'pore may need to raise retirement age to 68, says Lim
Boon Heng
By Hetty Musfirah |
Posted: 28 October 2010 1620 hrs
S'pore may need to raise retirement age to 68, says Lim
Boon Heng
By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 28
October 2010 1620 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Singapore's Minister in the Prime
Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng has indicated that the country may
need to raise its retirement age to 68.
Mr Lim, who's in Finland accompanying President S R Nathan on his
state visit there said Singaporeans need to work longer as their
life span increases.
That is because they need to accumulate more for their old
age.
Mr Lim who is also the minister in charge of issues on ageing in
Singapore, cited Finland as an example, and will use this trip as
an opportunity to study how the Finnish are dealing with their
ageing population.
Mr Lim added there are areas that Singapore can emulate. One of
which is to mobilise the elderly to organise themselves and form
retirement communities that can provide mutual support and
friendship.
A law that will make it mandatory for employers to offer
re-employment to workers beyond the age of 62 will be in place by
2012.
"We are raising the retirement age, through the process of
re-employment from the current 62 to 65 in January 2012. Beyond
that we would have to examine how we can further raise the
retirement age. In Finland, they have raised it to 68, so it gives
us an indication about where we should be heading.Because the Finns
are not living longer than us, we have a life expectancy of about
80, I think the finns are little less than us," said Mr Lim.
-CNA/ac
Source:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1089908/1/.html
