Singapore lifts retirement age to 65 from 2029

Singapore will raise its statutory retirement age to 65 and its re-employment age to 70 from 2029, tripartite partners said in a press release reported by Channel NewsAsia on Oct. 26.

Singapore’s change moves the timeline one year ahead of the previous 2030 plan and extends employer obligations beyond the current retirement age of 64 and re-employment age of 69, Channel NewsAsia reported.

The current statutory retirement age is 64. Once the new thresholds take effect, employers will be barred from dismissing employees because of age before they turn 65 and must offer re-employment, an obligation to offer eligible older workers continued work, until age 70.

“This sends a clear signal that seniors who wish to continue working longer would have the opportunity to do so,” Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash said at the launch of the tripartite report.

The Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation said in the press release that the measure is intended to give older workers greater assurance if they want to remain employed. The government accepted the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment’s recommendations in full, with implementation details to follow in the first half of 2027, Channel NewsAsia reported.

The package also includes extended wage support for employers that re-employ seniors, more support for lower-wage older workers and increased financial assistance for people who are not re-employed.

A new Flexi-Load Programme will help employers create jobs with adjustable workloads, including part-time and fractional work, for older employees. It will replace the Part-time Re-employment Grant, which ends after 2027.

The existing grant gives employers S$2,500 for each resident senior worker offered part-time re-employment, other flexible work arrangements and structured career planning, capped at S$125,000 for each company. Since 2020, it has supported about 68,500 seniors and about 7,800 employers, the report said.

The grant covers workers aged 60 and above. The new Flexi-Load Programme will cover workers aged 50 and above and require employers to show they have created additional flexible-workload roles, the workgroup said in its report.

Workers aged 50 and above made up about 40% of Singapore’s labour force in 2025, compared with around 34% in 2015, the workgroup report said. It said labour-force participation drops sharply among residents in their late 50s and older.

Dinesh said senior employment should offer “meaningful options across a longer career span,” while National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan said older workers should have “genuine options” ranging from full-time employment to flexible arrangements.

Singapore National Employers Federation vice-president Tan Hwee Bin said investing in older employees is becoming a “business necessity” because of a tight labour market and slower workforce growth.

“By redesigning jobs and offering more flexible arrangements, employers can retain valuable experience and build more resilient multi-generational teams,” she said.

Government surveys cited by Channel NewsAsia found caregiving responsibilities are the top reason workers in their 50s are not working or seeking work, while flexible work arrangements are the top initiative that could keep them in employment.

A new programme office for career longevity, led by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency, will support career planning, skills transitions and employer adoption of flexible-workload arrangements. The government is expected to provide implementation details in the first half of 2027.

Source: Channel NewsAsia article, Oct. 26.