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1.	Why did the Government decide to enact re-employment legislation and not raise the statutory retirement age?
2.	How will the Government help employers in the lead up to 2012 when re-employment legislation takes effect?
3.	What is the Government doing to help workers work longer?
4.	What are the immediate measures to help older workers who need jobs
5.	Who would qualify and what would be the terms for re-employment?
6.	What should employers do to prepare for the introduction of the legislation?
Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Changes
7.	How will WIS help older workers?
8.	What is the WIS eligibility criterion?
9.	Why are the WIS changes limited to workers aged above 55?
10.	When will the WIS payments be made?

1.	Why did the Government decide to enact re-employment legislation and not raise the statutory retirement age?
	Simply raising the statutory retirement age would not guarantee that the employment rate for those above age 62 would increase. In fact,
	a. It may make older workers even less employable. Employers may avoid hiring older workers, for example those in their 50s, so that they do not have to continue hiring these workers beyond 62. b. Employers have given feedback that some of their older workers are no longer cost competitive, but they continue to employ these workers until age 62 for the sake of the workers. If the retirement age is raised further beyond 62, some employers would likely stop hiring workers who were not performing, before they reach age 62.
	Re-employment offers more flexibility than raising the retirement age. It allows both the employer and employee to work out an arrangement agreeable to both parties. For employers, the re-employment system allows them to tap on a pool of experienced workers in a cost-effective and sustainable way that makes business sense. Unions also welcome the additional employment opportunities for the older workers. Older workers themselves will have to continue to perform, upgrade their skills and demonstrate their contributions, so that employers will see the value in hiring, retaining and re-employing them. To raise the effective retirement age, we need other measures to complement legislation and to address the more fundamental issues related to the employability of older workers. These measures include the ADVANTAGE! Scheme, training and upgrading for older workers, outreach efforts to change HR practice and shift mindsets, and tripartite guidelines to facilitate the re-employment of older workers. Employers should transform and develop their workplaces to be age-neutral and friendly to older workers, and implement technology and processes so that the productivity of workers can be maintained regardless of age.
2.	How will the Government help employers in the lead up to 2012 when re-employment legislation takes effect?
	Companies can tap on the ADVANTAGE! Scheme for assistance in changing their Human Resource R practices and systems to facilitate the implementation of re-employment policies. Each company can receive a grant of up to $400,000. The grant will fund the cost of the company's efforts in recruiting, retaining or re-employing mature workers, including the development of re-employment systems. These may include costs incurred for training, staff salary, consultancy, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and equipment purchases. In addition, workshops on implementing re-employment and age-friendly employment practices will also be held. For more information on the ADVANTAGE! Scheme, employers may contact: Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) Tel: (65) 6883 5885 Email: wda_enquiry@wda.gov.sg National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Tel: (65) 6213 8232/6213 8237 Email: phangbc@ntuc.org.sg/ongst@ntuc.org.sg Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) Tel: (65) 68276933 Email: tag@snef.org.sg Association of Small & Medium Enterprises Tel: (65) 6513 0388
3.	What is the Government doing to help workers work longer?
	The Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers (Tricom) has recommended a comprehensive set of measures to help workers work longer. Firstly, to expand the employment opportunities for older workers:
	The Government will introduce re-employment legislation by 1 Jan 2012. The tripartite partners will work together under the Tricom to encourage as many employers as possible over the next 5 years to implement re-employment policies and processes before the introduction of legislation.   WDA has enhanced the ADVANTAGE! Scheme to help companies build up capabilities to employ more older workers and to re-employ them beyond age 62.   A tripartite workgroup led by NTUC (chaired by Mdm Halimah Yacob) is looking at enhancing the employability of older women.   The Government will give a higher WIS payout to older workers above age 55 and those above 60, who fulfil the WIS eligibility criteria.     o For employees above 55 to 60, the Government will increase the WIS to a maximum of $150 a month (or $1,800 a year)     o For employees above 60, the Government will increase the WIS to a maximum of $200 a month (or $2,400 a year)
	Self-employed persons and informal workers will receive two thirds of what formal employees receive. The first WIS payment will be made in January 2008, for work done in the first half of 2007. Secondly, to enhance the cost competitiveness of older workers, the tripartite partners will step up the implementation of wage restructuring by moving companies away from a seniority-based wage system towards a job-based, competency-based and performance-based wage system. This will help to ensure that older workers remain cost competitive. Thirdly, to raise the skills and value of older workers, the Government has put in place the following:
	Providing opportunities for older workers to train and take up new jobs through WDA's Place and Train Programmes and the Professionals Conversion Programme (PCP) for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs).   Helping workers upgrade through the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system and the Employability Skills System (ESS).
	Fourthly, to shape positive perceptions towards older workers:
	The Tripartite Alliance on Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) has been set up to focus on promoting fair employment practices for the workforce. It will be expanding its efforts through setting up a Tripartite Centre for Fair Employment and instituting a national award to recognise companies for implementing fair employment practices.   The tripartite partners will continue with outreach and promotional efforts to employers, employees and the public to positively shape perceptions and promote age-friendly workplace practices.     o We will work on helping employers recognise the value of older workers and deploy them effectively, to make the most of their abilities and strengths.     o Workers must also help themselves, and be prepared for changes after 62, such as taking on a lower pay to be cost competitive and different area of work, as well as keeping up good work performance and taking care of their health.
4.	What are the immediate measures to help older workers who need jobs?
	The Government will step up its efforts and assistance programmes. The ADVANTAGE! scheme will make work easier for older Singaporeans. Through the efforts of NTUC and WDA, many companies have already adopted re-employment practices voluntarily. For those who are looking for jobs, they can approach any of WDA's Distributed Careerlink Network (DCN) employment centres set up around Singapore for career advice, job matching and placement services. The DCNs centres provide free services in employment and training assistance, particularly in 2 broad areas:
	Direct employment assistance such as job matching that is customised according to the job-seekers' needs, preferences and skills and career coaching/counselling to enable the job-seeker to proceed with the job search more confidently.   Training advice and assistance to help the job-seeker upgrade skills, broaden job options and maximise the job-seekers' chances at getting a job.
	The location and contact information of DCN centres can be found at WDA's website.
5.	Who would qualify and what would be the terms for re-employment?
	The Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers (Tricom) is working through the practical aspects of the re-employment legislation, by producing guidelines for employers and employees to be ready within two years. The guidelines will serve as a reference manual to provide clarity on terms and conditions for re-employment. Under these guidelines the majority will be offered re-employment. But it may not be in the same job or with the same pay. Meantime, employers and workers can refer to the Tripartite Guidelines on Employment of Older Workers above 62 Years Old, for guidance in their re-negotiation of employment terms and conditions. The guidelines were published in the Tricom's interim report released in January 2006. The guidelines set out the Re-employment Criteria as follows: employers should re-employ workers aged 62 who (i) have acceptable work performance; and (ii) are physically fit.
6.	What should employers do to prepare for the introduction of the legislation?
	They are strongly encouraged to implement re-employment well before the law is enacted. Employers and workers can refer to the Tripartite Guidelines on Employment of Older Workers above 62 Years Old, published in the Tricom's interim report released in January 2006, and promulgated by the various tripartite partners, for guidance in their re-negotiation of employment terms and conditions.
Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Changes
7.	How will WIS help older workers?
	Higher WIS payout will be given to workers above age 55 as an added incentive for these groups to continue working, with workers age above 60 receiving up to twice the current amounts. For example, employees aged 62 earning $1000 a month who originally would have received $100 a month from WIS would now get $200 a month. Likewise, the WIS for self-employed persons and informal workers will be increased proportionately.
8.	What is the WIS eligibility criterion?
	To qualify for WIS for work done in 2007, you must
	Be a Singapore Citizen; Have a monthly salary of up to $1,500; Be above 35 yrs of age as at 1 Jan 2008; Stay in a property with an Annual Value of $10,000 or less as at 31 Dec 2006; and Work at least three months in any six month period in the calendar year for half the payout, or at least six months in the calendar year for the full payout.
	If you are self-employed or informally employed, you will need to contribute to your CPF Medisave Account in order to qualify for WIS. All qualifying members will need to fully pay up their CPF liability before WIS can be allotted. More information can be found at the MOM website or the WIS website.
9.	Why are the WIS changes limited to workers aged above 55?
	The changes are to give greater encouragement to older WIS members to continue working as the employment rate of workers above the age of 55 declines significantly with age.
10.	When will the WIS payments be made?
	The new WIS tiers will apply to work done in 2007 and the first payment will be made in January 2008 to workers who fulfill the WIS eligibility criteria.