Singapore to raise re-employment age to 67 by 2017: PM Lee

By 2017, Singapore's re-employment age will be raised from 65 to 67 by law, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday in his National Day Rally speech.

The plan to legislate a higher re-employment age follows an agreement reached by the tripartite partners - the government, unions, and employers - who have been discussing how to give companies time to adjust to such a change.

This is so that re-employed workers can be productive and not be a burden on firms, said Mr Lee.

Currently, firms are required by law to offer re-employment to eligible workers when they turn 62, up to the age of 65. The re-employment age was raised to 65 in 2012.

On the issue of helping Singaporeans age well, Mr Lee said that Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who leads the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, will announce an Action Plan soon.

This, Mr Lee said, would hopefully make Singapore a model for successful ageing.