BY VICTORIA BARKER

BOTH employers and employees should change their mindset on retirement by not focusing on the country's official retirement age, but instead on the "effective retirement age", or the age at which people actually stop working, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng yesterday.

He was speaking to 100 people at a National Day observance ceremony at the Pinnacle@Duxton. The audience was from the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) U Live community, which organises events for its members, aged 55 and above.

Mr Lim said: "What is important for us is whether people are actually working. So let's not be overly focused on retirement age, whether it's official or unofficial, but whether we can make re-employment of people in the older age groups happen."

He cited countries whose citizens do not stick to the official retirement age. Austrians typically exit the labour force at 59, six years ahead of their nation's retirement age.

Conversely, the average South Korean works until the age of 71, or 11 years beyond that country's official retirement age.

Mr Lim also raised concerns over the findings of a recent NTUC survey, which found that close to half of 100 unionised companies do not have structured consultation processes in place for staff approaching the retirement age of 62.

Only 30 per cent of those surveyed offer re-employment to employees at least three months before retirement age - a practice recommended by the Tripartite Guidelines on the Re-employment of Older Employees.

Still, most firms are aware of the upcoming re-employment law - which will take effect by 2012 - and have taken steps to prepare themselves.

For example, more than 60 per cent list performance and medical-fitness requirements as re-employment criteria.

And almost two thirds give some form of assistance payment when older workers cannot be rehired.

"We must press on with these efforts to signal the importance of re-employment to companies... to help iron out the kinks and hurdles faced by companies and older workers," said Mr Lim.

"(This way) re-employment can be achieved smoothly from 62 to 65, and then to 67 onwards."

Older workers must also do their part - and not just by taking care of their health, he added.

"They should also join social interest groups so they have friends... It's not just the physical health of the person but also the social, mental and spiritual health (that matters)," he said.

Mr Heng Chee How, deputy secretary-general of NTUC, said companies under the NTUC umbrella which are found lacking in relevant areas will be encouraged to send their staff for courses like the government-subsidised NTUC and Centre for Seniors' Re-equipping Yourself for Re-employment programme.

Since the end of last year, the number of older workers above the age of 62 who have been re-employed by companies under NTUC has jumped by 34.5 per cent to 9,413.

At present, 957 out of 1,000 companies under the NTUC umbrella practise re-employment - an increase of 128 since the beginning of the year.

vbarker@sph.com.sg

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