You do not retire in Singapore

Famed as one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Singapore is also well known for its cleanliness, low crime rate, quality of education and many other winning factors. However some of the consequences are an aging population and an exhausted nation.

If you have used the award winning Singapore Changi International Airport before, you will be no stranger to the sight of elderly Singaporean men and women pushing trolleys and waving taxis for you and then when you went to one of the fast food chains for a quick bite, you will have seen another batch of senior citizens serving you.

At times, it’s appalling to see ladies of leisure yelling at these blue collar elderly workers for delivering the wrong type of coffee, teenagers swearing at the long queue as the uncle taking orders is extremely slow either because he can’t hear properly or he’s a bit slow using the till.

The retirement age in Singapore has been raised from 62 to 65 years old. The authorities said the act is in response to the citizens’ preference to work rather than staying at home.

The aged have no choice but to work for they have to pay their rents or home loans. In addition to the earlier factors Singapore also has some of the highest property prices in Asia. Therefore, average income citizens often live in low cost housing for Singaporeans known as HDBs, which are also known as pigeon holes. Most people don’t want to stay in them 24/7. Due to the high living standards and competitive working atmosphere, for the past few decades, a big number of Singaporeans have chosen to concentrate on their career rather than building a family, thus, many elderlies today are single and dependent only on the CPF or state pension.

Furthermore, once you are approved for an extension at your work place at 62, your salary is immediately slashed by 20% with the reason being you are not as competent anymore! However, there’s no reduction of working hours.

Looking at the impact of inflation on their shrinking incomes I can see a worrying future for those retirees in Singapore.