Budget 2020: Senior employment credit, CPF offset among new measures for those hiring older workers

SINGAPORE will introduce a Senior Worker Support Package comprising four measures, to support enterprises that employ older staff, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech on Tuesday.

First, the Special Employment Credit (SEC) and the Additional SEC (ASEC) will be refashioned into a Senior Employment Credit, which will take effect from 2021.

Like SEC and ASEC, this Senior Employment Credit will provide wage offsets to those employing Singaporeans aged 55 and above. Support levels will taper over time as the retirement and re-employment ages are gradually raised.

Second, when employer Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates go up in 2021, the government will provide employers with a CPF Transition Offset for that year to offset half the increase.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced last year that the CPF contribution rates will be raised for workers aged 55 to 70.

Third, a new Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant will support enterprises that raise their retirement and re-employment ages ahead of legislated changes.

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Fourth, enterprises that formalise their part-time re-employment provisions will receive a grant.

"Even as we support workers' aspirations to work longer, we hear employers' concerns," Mr Heng said.

Seniors who choose to retire but wish to continue to learn and stay active will be supported by a S$500 SkillsFuture Credit top-up that Mr Heng also announced in his speech.

"Retirees can use this (S$500 top-up) to deepen their interests, or even explore a whole new area - be it cooking or coding," he added.

For more Budget 2020 stories, visit bt.sg/budget20.