Singapore should discard concept of fixed retirement age

As a ship captain previously, I followed this rule for boarding lifeboats: The youngest first and the oldest last. I am for applying the same rule for selecting people for a job.

I prefer the ambience of a bank or restaurant where the service providers are young and beautiful. But my concern is the overall productivity of a nation faced with an ageing population and labour shortage.

Young Singaporeans should be given more incentives to lead a healthy life; it would be good for them and the nation eventually.

To this end, there should be an evaluation process for every employee once in five years, which is done in the armed forces.

If a person meets the health criteria and behaviour pattern, he should be promoted and properly rewarded. If not, he should be moved to an appropriate job.

Why should an employer pay a high salary to a sickly 35-year-old only because he is young?

If evaluations were done every five years, the need for a retirement age would not arise. A person could be retired at age 40 or employed at age 75 if he is fit for the job.

The problem is the inability to cope with the overall development in health standards. The average lifespan of a person born in 1900 was below the retirement age. Now, because of better living standards, the average lifespan here is 82.5 years. The retirement age should hence be higher.

Because of scientific evaluation techniques, we can now assess a person’s productivity, so it is time to remove the statutory retirement age and let everyone work as long as he wishes and be paid based on his productivity.

When I was working in Singapore Polytechnic, there was a 92-year-old gardener, the best employee I ever saw.

A BBC Horizon programme showed another 92-year-old, an Australian managing his own farm.

It is time Singapore discards the concept of a fixed retirement age. The benefits are many: Greater incentive for young people to stay healthy; investments saved on healthcare and family support; and more all-round productivity with the available human resources.