English
Singapore: Govt to engage businesses on raising of retirement age, develop support package: DPM Heng Swee Keat
SINGAPORE – Ministers from the Finance Ministry will continue to actively engage businesses, unions and other stakeholders, and develop a support package to help with the transition to higher retirement and re-employment ages.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Aug 20) night, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said he had spoken to many unionists, students, grassroots leaders and community partners after the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 18).
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced in his rally speech that the statutory retirement age will go up to 63 in 2022, and eventually to 65 by 2030.
The re-employment age will also go up from 67 now to 68 in 2022, and eventually to 70 by 2030.
Mr Heng noted that unionists and business leaders had shared with him their views on the issue when he met them two weeks ago with labour chief Ng Chee Meng and Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.
“I am glad our tripartite partners are united in enabling workers who want to work longer to do so,” he said.
In preparing for Budget 2020, Mr Heng said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah and himself will actively engage stakeholders.
Mr Wong and Ms Rajah are both Second Minister for Finance.
Mr Heng also said he was heartened that many Singaporeans, including students, understood how vulnerable Singapore is to the effects of climate change.
PM Lee had devoted a significant part of the rally to setting out the threat of climate change, and how bolstering Singapore’s defences against it is estimated to cost $100 billion or more over 50 to 100 years.
Said Mr Heng: “Mitigating and adapting to rising sea levels will require long-term fiscal commitment. As PM outlined in his speech, this will be the work of our generation and successive ones.”
He added that he is also glad many parents will be able to benefit from the additional pre-school subsidies and increase in post-secondary bursaries.
“Together, we can build our future Singapore,” he said.
Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/govt-to-engage-businesses-on-raising-of-retirement-age-develop-support-package-dpm