Around 28 taxi drivers above the age of 65 attended the retirement planning talk organised by the National Taxi Association (NTA) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) on 10 January 2014.
NTA General Secretary Albert Ong said that with more than 60 per cent of NTA members already 60 years old and above, they decided to work with TTSH to help drivers retire without having a hard time adjusting to a life without driving.
Principal Occupational Therapist Dr Chan Mei Leng led the talk about her research findings showing that retired taxi drivers often have problems adjusting to the change in their lives and some end up feeling “unwanted”.
As a result, many of them choose to continue driving till 75 years old for the sake of the community and as a means to preserve these friendships, shared Mr Ong.
Members who attended the talk learned about creating a productive daily schedule to keep them occupied and fully engaged with their surroundings.
The taxi drivers also had the opportunity to break into smaller groups to discuss how to take full advantage of their retirement years and lead meaningful lives.
One of the participants was Mr Lim Chee Pheng, a taxi driver for 30 years who is now nearing the mandatory retirement age in his profession when he turns 75 in August this year.
He drives seven days a week, except for days when he was ill.
Mr Lim shared his plans to stay active even after his retirement by doing simple work.
“The Government has been encouraging us elderly citizens to remain active in retirement, so I am going to live my life actively by working in some simple jobs,” Mr Lim said.
Apart from the retirement planning talk organised in conjunction with TTSH, NTA has also collaborated with the Health Promotion Board and other medical groups to offer low-cost basic medical and dental check-up for members reaching retirement.
Original article written by Nicholas Lee, and can be found in NTUC This Week (19 January 2014)
