LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say yesterday urged workers not to be alarmed by the possibility that the draw-down age for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) minimum sum might rise from 62 to 65.
At a dialogue with residents of Mountbatten, he explained that the Government's focus was to ensure that Singaporeans had enough savings for their old age. Key to this was to help workers work beyond their current retirement age of 62 so they would continue to receive an income.
'Instead of having Singaporeans start drawing down on their minimum sum at the age of 62, if they can continue working, firstly you keep yourself busy and occupied; secondly, you continue to have income, then you can defer drawing down CPF by another one, two, three, four years,' he said.
'By the time you stop working, you will have more money in the CPF, not less,' he added.
The dialogue with 70 grassroots leaders and residents took place after Mr Lim's constituency visit to Mountbatten. During the one-hour session, a grassroots leader expressed concern that people might be left in the lurch if the age to draw down the CPF minimum sum was raised.
The idea to do so was first floated by Minister Lim Boon Heng last Wednesday.
Yesterday, Mr Lim Swee Say said workers need not worry about a double whammy of being left without a job and a monthly CPF payout. He said the Government and the labour movement are working to prevent such a scenario - by encouraging people to work beyond the retirement age and companies to re-employ them.
He noted that as the life expectancy of Singaporeans increased, the authorities had refined the CPF policy to ensure people had enough saved up for their golden years.
Currently, Singaporeans can withdraw a part of their CPF at age 55. They must leave a minimum sum of about $100,000 in their CPF accounts, from which they will receive a monthly payout from age 62.
But with people expected to live even longer, talk of tweaking the policy has surfaced again.
Mr Lim added that while the push is for seniors to keep working, they could work part-time or on flexible hours, so they would not be subject to as much stress as in their younger days.
He cited SingHealth as an example. It re-employed 70 per cent of its retired nurses to work for a few hours a day.
During the dialogue, another resident asked that retailers be allowed to hire more foreign workers. Mr Lim replied that a delicate balance had to be struck between businesses' manpower needs and the interests of Singaporean workers, who worry that foreigners will take away their jobs and depress wages.
In response to concerns about means-testing for hospitalisation subsidies, Mr Lim urged residents not to assume the worst as the details of the proposed change were still being worked out.
