A KEY plank in the bid to get more Singaporeans working past the retirement age of 62 will be money - up to $400,000 per company.

They can use it, for instance, to set up a system to automatically re-hire seniors, buy new equipment to make work processes less taxing, and send these workers for skills upgrading.

But companies must show that the money, given out through the Advantage! Scheme, does result in more older Singaporeans on their payroll.

Yesterday, Minister of State (Manpower) Gan Kim Yong highlighted the role the scheme will play in gearing companies for a new law on re-hiring seniors, which is set to kick in by 2012.

'If the ground is not adequately prepared, legislation can have a negative effect. Companies may become hesitant to hire mature workers for fear of having to employ them for extended periods,' he said to some 500 employers, unionist and human resource executives.

He was speaking at the second Tripartism Forum, a platform for management, unions and Government to strengthen ties and discuss national labour issues.

One of the pressing issues has been how to keep more older workers working. This comes as Singapore grapples with an ageing population. By 2020, over 500,000 people here will be aged 65 and above.

Also, it is projected that in 50 years, Singapore will be the world's fourth-oldest economy, after Macau, Japan and South Korea.

Central Provident Fund figures also show most Singaporeans do not have enough savings for their golden years.

But while the new re-employment law can send a strong signal to companies, it is not a 'panacea' to deal with the challenges faced by older workers, said Mr Gan.

Mindsets need to change. And businesses need time and help to put in place practices friendly to seniors.

It is against such a backdrop that the five-year interval was provided, he told unionist Freddy Lim later during a question-and-answer session. Mr Lim, president of the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority Workers' Union, asked whether the Government was waiting too long to put the law in place.

Mr Gan said that during the five years, the Government would work with companies to put in place re-employment schemes. It would try to smoothen kinks as well as consider them when drafting the law.

Employers feel that actively promoting re-employment was more 'constructive' than just waiting for the law to kick in.

Citing Japan, Mr Bob Tan, vice-president of the Singapore National Employers' Federation, said its re-employment law, which Singapore is looking at, had no penalties for those who did not comply.

'In a way, the legislation is more to focus the mind and help companies move towards re-employing of older workers,' he added.

Speaking to The Straits Times later, unionist Freddy Lim said he would like to see companies being given 'measurable' targets to achieve.

'This can include mandating that a certain proportion of their staff are mature workers, and getting them to set out specific criteria for the hiring of such workers.'

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