if old people are allowed to work till 65 means that PAP will
have more money in CPF for their Temasek to invest.
Seems they are really hard up for more money these days, they
encourage transfer of fund to CPF special account by giving
higher interest, NTUC Income now provides fixed deposit.
WE have a ruling party who cares for profit making as the
top priority, the welfare of the people who feed them are not on
their top priority list. We really don't need
businessmen to run this country. Want to make lots of
money, go into business and not politics, PAP. Lee
hsien loong is as heartless as ever. Almost everything
is $$$ to him. What a shitty pee
m!
'Retirement means
death'
Clarissa Oon - The Straits Times, Mon, Jan 14,
2008
THE three
words 'retirement means death' reverberated around the Suntec
Convention Centre theatre yesterday as Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew
addressed the problem of an ageing society at a
dialogue.
'We've got to educate those about to retire: Don't retire, work.
Retirement means death,' said MM Lee with a
laugh.
And he
meant every word of what he said to participants at the Silver
Industry Conference and Exhibition (Sicex).
'I would
not be able to speak to you in this way if I had not led a very
active life, connected with many people throughout the world and
tried to interpret it to make sense for Singapore,' said the elder
statesman, who turns 85 this year.
Like many
developed and fast developing countries around the world, Singapore
has an ageing population due to longer lifespans and declining
birth rates.
'Maybe if
we had not started family planning, it would not have been so bad.
But then we would not have (economic) growth,' quipped Mr Lee to
much laughter from conference participants.
Earlier in
the 70-minute dialogue, which revealed a light-hearted and more
personal side of the MM, he said that Singaporeans who believed
they could stop work at 55 to drink wine and play golf were 'done
for'.
'If the mindset is that 'I'll reach retirement age at 62, I'm old,
I can't work anymore, now is the time I enjoy life,' I think you're
making the biggest mistake of your life.'
Research
has shown that those who retire and lead sedentary lives 'die off
very quickly', said the man who started jogging regularly in his
50s and now also keeps fit by swimming and cycling.
'With nothing to do, no purpose in life, you'll just degrade, go to
seed. The human being needs a challenge.'
He
maintains a packed schedule of international travel, including
official trips every year to regional powerhouses China and
India.
MM Lee was
sharing his experiences of active ageing with Sicex
participants.
The
four-day conference, which ends tomorrow, explores ways to grow the
seniors' market in Singapore and the region.
Asked by Dr
Kanwaljit Soin, who runs a non-profit organisation for older women
to age successfully, if Singapore could do away with its retirement
age of 62, Mr Lee said he personally did not believe in such a
concept.
However, he
said it was very difficult to deviate from international
practice.
He suggested that a senior citizen 'go on working for as long as he
can, but changing the nature or the intensity of the work as he
ages'.
Mr Lee also defended
Singapore's Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme and argued against
pensions for the elderly, which have to be supported by tax
revenues.
The CPF
scheme, he said, helps Singapore to remain competitive, saying it
aims for 'minimum tax rates and maximum
self-sufficiency'.
'This way you are not passing the burden (of caring for the
elderly) to the next generation,' he added.
(ha ha, more like won't pass burden to PAP so they can continue
to draw obscene world class super high pay. That is why
they make buying of annuity compulsory.)