Singapore to raise retirement age to 64 and re-employment age to 69 on July 1: Tan See Leng

The retirement age in Singapore will be raised to 64 on July 1, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said on March 3.

The re-employment age will also be raised to 69 on July 1.

This means that Singapore is on track to raise the retirement age to 65 and the re-employment age to 70 by 2030, he said.

Speaking during the debate on the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) annual budget, Dr Tan said: “This will give our seniors more flexibility and assurance, while enabling employers to retain experienced workers.”

Giving more details in a separate speech, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon said: “These changes matter because they do more than set legal limits. They shape social norms around ageing and work, giving seniors confidence to stay on, and giving employers the clarity to plan for and retain experienced workers.”

He noted that more than nine in 10 employees who are eligible and wish to continue working are successfully offered re-employment.

Over the past five years, labour force participation among residents in their 60s has also edged up, from around 58 per cent to nearly 60 per cent. Among those in their 50s, it rose from 79 per cent to 82 per cent.

To support employers who continue to hire senior workers, the Senior Employment Credit will be extended until December 2027.

This credit scheme allows the Government to provide wage offsets to help employers adjust to the higher retirement and re-employment ages. A higher level of support will be given for workers in the older age bands.

Meanwhile, the Part-Time Re-Employment Grant has also been extended till December 2027 to support employers in offering suitable part-time and flexible work options for senior workers.

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) system will also be enhanced to boost senior workers’ retirement adequacy, Dr Tan said.

The CPF contribution rates for senior workers aged above 55 to 60 will be raised by 1.5 percentage points from 2027, while the rates for those aged above 60 to 65 will be increased by 1 percentage point from 2027.

This would mean that Singapore has reached the target contribution rates for senior workers aged above 60 to 65, as recommended by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers, which was formed in 2018 to look into strengthening support for older workers.

The Government will also extend the CPF Transition Offset by another year to December 2027, Dr Tan said.

This initiative will cover 50 per cent of the increase in employer CPF contributions in 2027. It provides transitory wage offsets to alleviate the rise in business costs due to the increase in CPF contribution rates for senior workers.

Later in 2026, the Government will also announce the new retirement sums for cohorts beyond 2027 to allow members to plan ahead.

Dr Tan said: “With rising living standards, the new sums will better reflect the savings needed to meet basic retirement needs in the future.”

In addition, the Government introduced a CPF top-up in Budget 2026 to provide more support for eligible individuals aged 50 and above with lower CPF balances.

They will receive a CPF top-up of up to $1,500 in their CPF Retirement Account or Special Account in December. The top-up amount will be tiered according to recipients’ CPF retirement savings and the annual value of their residential property.

CPF’s new investment scheme

Besides helping senior workers, the CPF Board will also provide a new option for members to grow their CPF savings.

It will introduce a new investment scheme, targeted to be launched in the first half of 2028, to offer simplified, low-cost life-cycle investment products.

The CPF Board already has a CPF Investment Scheme, which gives members the option to invest their CPF savings in a wide range of instruments.

The new scheme will cater to long-term investors who may have less expertise in navigating the current offerings and will manage investments along a glide path to steadily reduce an investor’s exposure to riskier assets over time.

The CPF Board will engage the industry and invite potential providers to express their interest.

Dr Tan also responded to a question by Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) on how providers will be selected.

“Applications will be rigorously evaluated by independent investment consultants appointed by the CPF Board, covering investment capability and track record, among others,” Dr Tan said.

He added that costs will be kept low with capped all-in fees, and the Government is also prepared to provide time-limited support.

Dr Tan also noted that not everyone has the appetite for investment risks, so the new scheme will be voluntary.

He also agreed with Mr Shawn Loh (Jalan Besar GRC) and Nominated MP Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari that investor literacy is key.

“Members must understand the products and their risks, and decide the most suitable option for themselves,” Dr Tan said, adding that considerations like a cooling-off window, target dates and encouraging retention will also be taken into account when engaging providers.

Enabling longer careers

In his speech, Dr Koh also shared progress on the discussions by the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment, which looks into enabling career longevity.

He said: “Good career health supports longer working lives. And like physical health, career health benefits from early, regular check-ins and career planning – not only when problems arise.”

To this end, he said more support will be provided for mid-career workers in their 40s and 50s as they adapt to new roles, technologies and sectors.

Workforce Singapore (WSG) and its partners have already piloted targeted career guidance programmes for individuals in their 50s and 60s, with some 1,000 people going through the programmes.

Dr Koh said WSG will work with partners to scale up career guidance for later-stage careers and integrate these programmes into its regular offerings.

But employers also have a part to play by having conversations with their workers to plan for job redesign, identify skills needed for future opportunities, and adjust work arrangements, he said.

He added that there will be a stronger push for employers to adopt regular, structured career planning conversations earlier in their employees’ careers, and explore how these can be more systematically embedded into HR training and certification requirements.

Dr Koh said efforts are also being made to look into job redesign, through the Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers, which works with organisations to test practical models.

Meanwhile, the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment – convened by MOM together with the National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation in July 2025 – is studying a more integrated approach, such as a centre for career longevity that can bring service providers together to develop and scale solutions for longer, multi-stage careers.

The work group will release its report in the second half of 2026, with further details on its proposed measures.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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