The Government recently announced that the retirement and re-employment age — the age till which employers must offer continued employment to employees who reach the minimum retirement age — will be raised gradually by 2030.

These are welcome policy moves. According to preliminary data released by the Department of Statistics in 2018, 60-year-old men, on average, can expect to live for another 23.4 years, while women can expect an additional 27 years. 

This is a long period of time, and postponing retirement offers older adults the opportunity to continue to earn, be productively engaged, maintain social contacts, and remain physically and mentally active.

However, the increase in the minimum retirement age and re-employment age will only benefit those who are still working at 62 in 2022 or later. Workers who choose to leave work before they reach the minimum retirement age will not gain from the new policy.

So, why do workers stop working before they reach the minimum retirement age? 

The ideal answer would be financial adequacy, where an individual has accumulated enough money to sustain his lifestyle for the rest of his life. But our research indicates that for the vast majority of older adults who retired early, the reality is more sobering.

In 2016-2017, the Centre for Ageing Research and Education at Duke-NUS Medical School, conducted a nationally-representative survey of 4,549 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 60 and above. It was titled Transitions in Health, Employment, Social Engagement, and Intergenerational Transfers in Singapore Study–I. 

We asked the 2,623 retired participants if they had retired early, and if so, what their reasons for early retirement were. 

Participants could choose multiple reasons from a range of options presented to them, as well as provide open-ended responses. A total of 945 participants, which amounted to more than one-third of the participants, reported that they had retired early.

Among the women who had retired early, 59 per cent reported that they did so to take care of a family member, relative or friend. The second most-cited reason, reported by about 20 per cent of women, was that they retired early because of their ill health.

About one in 10 women said that they had been made redundant or been dismissed. About 43 per cent of the men cited their ill health as the reason for retiring early. A quarter of the male participants said that they had been dismissed or made redundant.

About 15 per cent of the men said that they wanted to spend more time with their spouse or family. Interestingly, only 3 per cent of the women cited the same reason.

Overall, more males than females cited other work-related factors such as being offered early retirement incentives by the employer, or being fed up with the job and seeking a change.

Being financially secure was reported as a reason for early retirement only by a minority: about 11 per cent of the men and 5 per cent of the women. A similar but differently worded option, ‘to enjoy life while still young and fit’ was cited by 7.5 per cent of the men and 3 per cent of the women.

The data suggests that for both men and women in Singapore, early retirement is largely involuntary.

And therefore, while the Government is providing opportunities for older workers to remain in the workforce for longer, it must also address issues of workers who are compelled by personal and family reasons to stop working at a younger age.

The two most cited reasons, caregiving and poor health, are both areas where social policy can have a major role to play.

Women who report caregiving as the reason for early retirement may be referring to their caretaking of young children earlier in their lives, or providing care to ageing parents, parents-in-law, or even a spouse later on. 

However, if they are provided access to reliable alternative caregiving resources as well as workplace flexibility, then a number of women could possibly return to the workforce instead of retiring early.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcements on plans to increase the number of government-supported pre-schools, expand the criterion for subsidy eligibility and increase the quantum of subsidies, are timely, as they point towards more accessible and affordable high-quality childcare options.

Additionally, offering accredited training programmes in childcare and elder care to foreign domestic workers can increase the quality of complementary caregiving resources available to families, as well as reduce the time spent by women in direct caregiving.

Likewise, workplace innovations can make a significant impact on stemming the desire for early retirement. Employees who have children, parents, and spouses in need of care must be allowed to take additional paid leave.

Flexible working arrangements such as allowing employees to start and end work earlier, and permitting them to work from home or remotely, can go a long way in retaining individuals in the workforce.

Men must also be offered these flexible work arrangements so that they can more equitably share caregiving responsibilities with women.

Combined with Singapore’s robust health system, the Government’s health promotion efforts and expansion of access to subsidised health services are expected to enable more efficient management of chronic diseases. 

This would then delay the onset and progression of health conditions compelling workers to retire early. Additionally, workplaces can be designed to be more age inclusive and accommodating of mobility limitations.

With a concerted effort that directly addresses the reasons for retiring early, Singapore’s most invaluable resource – its people – can remain contributing members of society at all ages.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: 

Dr Abhijit Visaria and Dr Rahul Malhotra are both from Duke-NUS Medical School. Dr Visaria  is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Ageing Research and Education, while Dr Malhotra is the Head of Research at the same centre as well as Assistant Professor, Programme in Health Services and Systems Research.