CitiNews: Old Folks in Singapore LOVE to Work
Just how many times do they have to conduct such surveys?
Please don't make it sound like people are so happy to work till they die. The title should be changed to "About half of older Singaporeans Need to Work for as Long as they can".
What to do? Old people lost hard earned money, government also refuses to help. No pension, high electricity tariffs, increasing expensive transport costs, what can these old Singaporeans do other than to work till they collapse?
Well, that's life. (Quote: GCT)
About half of older S'poreans want to work for as long as they can
By Ryan Huang, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 October 2008 1928 hrs
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SINGAPORE: About half of Singaporeans, aged between 43 and 60, surveyed want to work for as long as they can, according to a government survey.
This has prompted the Council for Third Age, an agency championing active ageing, to urge companies to get their workplaces ready for older employers.
The survey also showed that among the other half who plan to retire, three in 10 of them expect to do so beyond the official retirement age.
A longer life expectancy is among the factors set to make Singapore the fourth oldest population worldwide by 2050.
Thus, there are growing calls for companies to pay attention to how their workforces are aging and to have a wider perspective.
Gerard Ee, chairman, Council for Third Age, said: "During boom times, you're so busy you have no time to send your employees for training. During this quieter downtime, this is the time to invest in training, to train your employees and to be prepared for the upturn."
Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Lim Boon Heng, said: "In these uncertain times, you need people to have experience. The experience would count for how the company responds to the current crisis.
"Many employers would find that the older employees are valuable of the insights they have gained from the experience of past downturns."
Officials said that before changes can happen, people first need to talk about the issue. That is why an upcoming international conference on reinventing retirement will become increasingly relevant when it is held here next January.
The second edition of Reinventing Retirement Asia Conference will be held in Singapore for the first time.
In the lead up to the event, two local companies, Alexandra Hospital and SingHealth, have been recognised for their age-friendly workplace practices. - CNA/vm