I refer to the ST Forum letter by Mr. Geoffrey Kung dated 2 Feb 2013.
He is right. Each succeeding cohort of Singaporeans is better educated and on the whole more healthy than the previous cohort. This means that many more of our seniors would be able to contribute at work and in the community for more years as we move forward. This is an asset that neither the Government nor businesses and community groups should miss. By planning well now and learning how to better tap their energies and experience, Singapore will benefit. This is especially pertinent given the rising numbers of seniors in our population, projected to grow from the current 300,000 above age 65 to 900'000 in 2030. If we are slow to act, we will face more critical shortages of manpower in the public, private and people sectors. We will also increase the pressure on the younger working population to provide for their senior dependents while heightening the reliance on foreign manpower.
For this reason, I have called on the tripartite partners to ensure the smooth and fair implementation of the re-employment law, and to work on increasing the re-employment age band from the current 62-65 to 62-67 soon.
Making sure that Singaporeans can enjoy a good quality of life goes beyond ensuring adequacy of physical infrastructure. Social adaptation is just as critical.
Heng Chee How
Deputy Secretary-General, NTUC
Chairman NTUC “ULive@work"
