By Shivali Nayak
EVERYONE looks forward to retirement, but many Singaporeans
still feel capable of working beyond the age of 62, so many
rejoiced at the government's recent announcement of lifting the
retirement age to 65.
Ramesh Prakash Sharma, 66, is so good at his job that when he
turned 62, he was given a promotion instead of being asked to
retire. His company Qioptiq, an optics manufacturing company, made
him a Technical Mentor to show younger employees the ropes. He
says: 'I love my job. Optic is in my blood.'
Under the new Retirement and Re-employment Act passed in
Parliament on Tuesday, employees who turn 62 will now be given the
option to work for another three years. The new re-employment law
will be in place from January 2012 and will affect some 20,000
workers.
Another gainfully employed sexagenarian is Elizabeth Hendriks, a
63-year-old steward with Fairmont Singapore who has never missed a
day of work in her 13 years with the organisation.
She says she is happy with her job as it keeps her active, and
she has only taken 2 days of medical leave in the last 5 years.
Leon Bock, General Manager at The Family Movers, says that older
workers bring a lot of value to the company. He says older workers
are more experienced and loyal to the organisation, and also take
fewer MCs.
