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The government has accepted six recommendations to help senior workers remain in employment for longer, including more flexible work arrangements, enhanced financial support, and tax relief.
Singapore will raise its statutory retirement age from 64 to 65 and re-employment age from 69 to 70 on 1 January 2029, bringing forward the planned changes as part of a broader effort to support longer working lives.
The move is one of six recommendations put forward by the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment (TWG-SE), which released its report on 26 October 2026 (Monday). The government has accepted all six recommendations and will work with tripartite partners and industry stakeholders to implement them.
The recommendations aim to help more senior workers remain in meaningful and sustainable employment for as long as they wish, while supporting employers in retaining experienced talent and building age-friendly, multi-generational workplaces.
Building on the work of the 2019 Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers, the latest recommendations extend beyond statutory retirement and re-employment requirements to provide more options for workers at different career and life stages.
More Singaporeans are living longer and healthier lives, while career paths are becoming less linear. At the same time, businesses face tighter manpower constraints and rapid technological change.
Convened in July 2025, the TWG-SE consulted more than 1,000 stakeholders, including employers, industry and union representatives, workers, HR professionals, and academics.
It also drew on insights from the Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers (AfA-EMW). Under the initiative, 30 organisations piloted solutions covering training and career guidance, job matching, alternative employment models, and phased retirement, benefiting more than 1,600 senior workers.
More flexible roles and career guidance for senior workers
The first recommendation is to expand flexible work opportunities and career guidance for senior workers, particularly those who may need support to remain employed or re-enter the workforce.
A new Flexi-Load Programme (FLP) will support employers in creating and expanding flexi-load opportunities, such as part-time and fractional work. The programme will help offset transitional costs associated with introducing these arrangements, including the HR and organisational changes needed to redesign jobs, systems and policies traditionally structured around full-time work.
The FLP will replace the existing Part-Time Re-employment Grant when it expires at the end of 2027. Funding will be tied to employers creating additional flexi-load roles.
A new programme office for career longevity, led by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) in collaboration with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), will also be established.
The office will help workers navigate career and skills transitions while supporting employers in adopting age-inclusive workforce practices.
These efforts will complement wider tripartite initiatives that aim to strengthen human capital development, help workers manage changing job demands, and improve workplace safety and health outcomes through industry-led solutions.
Retirement age to rise to 65, re-employment age to 70
The second recommendation is to raise the statutory retirement age from 64 to 65 and the re-employment age from 69 to 70 on 1 January 2029, ahead of the previously planned 2030 timeline.
The change seeks to provide greater assurance to senior workers who wish to continue working beyond the statutory retirement age, while enabling employers to retain their skills and experience for longer.
The third recommendation is to increase the minimum and maximum amounts of the Employment Assistance Payment (EAP), which was last updated in 2022, to account for wage growth in recent years. The EAP provides financial support to eligible workers who are not offered re-employment. Raising the payment amounts is intended to help these workers manage the transition as they seek new employment opportunities.
The fourth recommendation focuses on improving take-home pay for senior workers who continue working beyond the statutory retirement and re-employment ages.
The TWG-SE has proposed enhancing Earned Income Relief (EIR) for these workers to reduce their tax burden and allow them to retain more of their earnings.
The fifth recommendation is to replace the Senior Employment Credit (SEC), which expires in 2027, with a new Re-Employment Credit from 2028. The new credit will support employers in hiring and retaining senior workers beyond the statutory retirement and re-employment ages.
More support for lower-wage senior workers
Finally, the sixth recommendation focuses on lower-wage senior workers, who face greater challenges in achieving adequate incomes and retirement savings.
To help them remain employed, productive, and financially secure if they choose to continue working, the TWG-SE has recommended enhancing the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) and updating the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS).
Enhancing WIS will provide additional income support and help improve retirement adequacy for lower-wage senior workers. Updating PWCS, meanwhile, will give employers greater support to raise wages sustainably.
NTUC stresses choice and support for senior workers
Speaking at the report launch on 26 October, Desmond Tan, Deputy Secretary-General, NTUC said senior employment should go beyond raising retirement and re-employment ages, with workers given greater choice and support as their needs change. “If a senior wants to continue working, there should be opportunities to do so; if greater flexibility is needed, meaningful options should be available,” he said.
DSG Tan also highlighted the challenges senior workers face when returning to employment after losing their jobs. Citing the Ministry of Manpower’s Q2 2026 Labour Market Report, he noted that workers aged 50 to 59 had the highest retrenchment incidence, with only about four in 10 returning to employment within six months. He shared the example of Tan Ai Kim, a 53-year-old financial accountant, whose contract ended and who received career coaching, job referrals, and interview preparation through NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i). Through e2i’s Career Pulse programme, she gained insights into industry trends and evolving skills needs, and has since received a job offer.
Implementation details expected in 2027
Further details of the measures are expected to be released in the first half of 2027.
Find the full report here.
Infographic / MOM
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