Scrapping the retirement age is an idea whose time has come

IN marketing material for financial products, retirement is pictured as a tranquil time: an elderly couple stretch out on a beach chair as the sun sets in the distance. In numerous surveys, however, the prospect of ageing and retirement is increasingly viewed with trepidation.

Prudential Singapore's recent "Ready for 100" survey found, for instance, that only 29 per cent want to live to 100. More than half of the respondents expect to rely on a salary when they reach the minimum retirement age of 62. For Singapore, the issue of ageing is particularly vexing, as increased life expectancy and very low birth rates deal a double whammy with sobering implications for economic growth. Singapore's fertility rate dropped to 1.16 in 2017, the lowest figure since hitting 1.15 in 2010. The number of Singaporeans age 65 and older is expected to double to around 90…