TR EMERITUS

From our Correspondent

According to the Oxford University’s Institute of Ageing, ninety-one per cent of Singaporeans do not feel well prepared for retirement compared to the global average of 87 per cent.

The results were released during a workshop on aging between the Oxford Institute of Ageing and the Singapore Council for Third Age (C3A) in Singapore from 14 – 16 September 2009.

Modelled on the successful OIA Spring School, The Active Ageing Programme – Family, Work and Community featured key note lectures and workshops by OIA academics, led by Director Professor Sarah Harper, on a broad spectrum of issues including Global Ageing, Pension Reform, Health Care Models, and Community Ageing.

The aim of the School is to assist the Singapore Government in its ongoing development of national policies on ageing by better informing all key stakeholders about current issues and research findings.

The Oxford report suggested that the low level of preparedness is linked to a lack of access to financial advice. Although Singapore has a wide range of retirement products available, more could be done to educate families to plan for the long term. One of the key solutions for Singapore is to keep older workers employed.

The team responsible for the report conducted a workshop in Singapore to help stakeholders from the private and public sectors, non-government organisations and academics plan for an ageing society.

This commitment was reflected in the opening ceremony launched by Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister-in-Charge of ageing issues. Speaking at the opening, he called the partnership between C3A and the OIA a “much needed boost to the gerontological scene.”

During the two day school thirty-four participants from government, non-profit and community organizations as well as academic representatives with medical, nursing, gerontological and social policy backgrounds will actively participate in shaping the future of the ageing agenda in Singapore.

The Singapore government has been encouraging the elderly population to work as long as possible. The current retirement age is 62 and there are plans in the pipeline to raise it to 65 and eventually to 67.

A CPF Life scheme was introduced and Singaporeans are strongly encouraged to sign up for it to guarantee them a steady source of monthly income when they retire. In the past, Singaporeans were allowed to withdraw their CPF savings in one lump sum after the age of 55.

With no social safety net to speak, many Singaporeans cannot afford to retire especially if they have used up their savings to service the mortage loans of their HDB flats.

All over the island, one can find Singapore elderly busy at work as security guards, toilet cleaners and attendants, coffeeshop dishwashers and attendants or as freelance street scavengers picking up used cans and cardboards in the streets for a living.

An AFP video about the life of a 76 year old street scavenger Madam Zheng stirred a furore in cyberspace lately.

Acting Minister for Information, Communications and Arts criticized the factual inaccuracies in the film. He claimed that Madam Zheng has a fully-paid HDB flat and children.

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