Raise retirement age to past 65: former wage council chairman Lim Chong Yah
Singapore should consider raising its retirement age to older than 65, and the National Wages Council (NWC) should re-introduce a mandatory component to its wage increment recommendations to ensure employers here comply.
These were suggested by Professor Lim Chong Yah, who served as founding chairman of the National Wages Council from its inception in 1972 to 2001.
In a speech he on Thursday evening at the launch of a new book, published by World Scientific, on his experience with the NWC, Lim said his recommendations were drawn from his time chairing the council and were written in light of the changing economic circumstances of recent years.
"In my view, we should look into the question of retirement, extending it to, say, 65 and above, in order to cope up with the shortage of local labour supply," he told reporters ahead of the launch.
He explained that he was concerned about elderly workers whose contracts may be expiring at around age 60 and who face close to 20 years in retirement without sufficient savings.
Turning to the addition of a compulsory element into future NWC recommendations on wage adjustments, the professor said this could be done by way of an increase or cut in employer CPF contributions.
"The NWC may wish to look into this compulsory element for raising the wages of the low and very low-income earners in our present-day circumstances, in lieu of a compulsory national minimum wage scheme," he added.
That said, Lim feels that a minimum wage proposal that he first tabled -- and eventually withdrew -- during the early stages of his tenure could stand to be looked at and reconsidered, even as the government announced a new scheme that mandates a minimum wage of $1,000 for cleaners.
When asked, he said he also still stands by his widely-debated "wage shock therapy" proposal that he spoke about and elaborated at length upon two years ago.
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