Seniors co-operative aims to help older displaced PMETs

Mr Yeow Hwee Ming voices what is in the hearts of many seniors, whether retrenched or retired (“Set up co-operative to help displaced senior PMETs”; July 26).

I shared his feelings for displaced seniors when I lost my job as Director, Greater China of an American IT company in 1999. I tried for a few years to secure an equivalent post while doing some freelance assignments.

But assignments got harder to come by as the years rolled on. So I re-educated myself in 2005, when I was near 60, in another industry. But by then, I was at an unemployable age.

I was as convinced as Mr Yeow that people in their 60s can still contribute, although the years had changed my work-life balance.

My years unemployed had allowed this workaholic to enjoy life in the wider perspective, like writing to the press, keeping fit, et cetera.

It was then that I started to feel the need to share my experience with other seniors.

So in 2011, together with a younger retired PMET, I founded a co-operative, which we named Reverse Co-operative (Re-Employ Valuable Economic Resources of Seniors and Elders).

It took us two years to get the co-operative registered, as there are stringent requirements to meet to form a co-operative. We were an early mover for such a “for the aged, by the aged” self-help group. Our members are mainly retired PMETs.

Reverse shared Mr Yeow’s vision of, first, addressing retirees’ employment needs; second, sharing experiences and third, securing preferential rates for goods and services for seniors.

Mr Yeow concluded his letter with “seniors should value their golden years and age with dignity ... (and) also share in the latest marketplace developments”.

Apart from these goals, we are also exploring the possibility of offering retrenchment protection for senior PMETs to lighten the pressure on those who have less savings.

In the past five years, we have met with many practical constraints. To reach the goals Mr Yeow suggested, we need the time and commitment of like-minded seniors, like him, to come together.

As we are a self-help group and not a private enterprise, we need active seniors to participate in group activities. Most Singaporeans, even retirees, are busy with many distractions of life. To be able to job-match, we need a large pool of PMETs.

If like-minded seniors join our co-operative, we can truly be a “seniors for seniors” group. As we are a co-operative, every member will have an equal voice in charting our course.

We would welcome more Singaporean seniors to join hands and minds in our effort to get seniors to help seniors. Singapore does not have to grow old if we, the citizens, help each other stay young and active.