REVIEW OF EARLY RETIREMENT IN LIGHT OF RE-EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION

REVIEW OF EARLY RETIREMENT IN LIGHT OF RE-EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION

11.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Manpower with the introduction of the re-employment legislation, whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the exemption clauses under the existing law which allows employers to retire their employees before the official retirement age, especially in the petroleum sector where some employees are retired at the age of 55 years.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Under the Retirement Age Act (RAA), the retirement age of an employee shall be not less than 62 years of age unless they are exempted from the provisions of the Act.

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Employees who are currently exempted from the provisions of the RAA include foreign employees on work passes, employees whose job requirements are physically demanding, and employees on retirement benefit schemes introduced before the enactment of the RAA in 1993, which allow employees to retire and receive their retirement benefits earlier than the minimum statutory retirement age. This includes some employees in petroleum companies who could receive their retirement benefits at their contractual retirement age. Notwithstanding this, many of these employees are offered re-employment by their companies if they meet certain criteria.

As we prepare for the introduction of re-employment legislation to be in place in 2012, MOM is also reviewing these exemptions with the view to allow more employees to enjoy re-employment opportunities. As part of the review process, MOM will also consult the unions and employers to ensure that their views and inputs are taken into consideration.

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