Responsible re-employment
From 1 July 2022, employers must offer re-employment to eligible employees who turn 63, up to the age of 68. Find out if you are eligible, guidelines on re-employment and what to do if there is a dispute.
In accordance with the Retirement and Re-employment Act (RRA), the minimum retirement age is 63 years. Employers are not allowed to dismiss any employee based on an employee’s age.
Employers must offer re-employment to eligible employees who turn 63, up to age 68, to continue their employment in the organisation. The re-employment age was raised from 67 to 68 on 1 July 2022 to help older workers who wish to continue working as long as you are willing and able.
The new retirement and re-employment ages apply as follows:
| Age | Retirement age | Re-employment age |
| Born before 1 July 1955
(>67 years old on 1 July 2022) |
62 | 67 |
| Born between 1 July 1955 and 30 June 1960 (between 62-67 years old on 1 July 2022) |
62 | 68 |
| Born after 1 July 1960
(<62 years old on 1 July 2022) |
63 | 68 |
Eligibility
You are eligible for re-employment if you:
- Are a Singapore citizen or Singapore permanent resident.
- Have served your current employer for at least 2 years before turning 63 for employees hired at age 55 and above.
- Have satisfactory work performance, as assessed by the employer.
- Are medically fit to continue working.
If you are eligible for re-employment but your employer is unable to offer you a position, then your employer must:
- Transfer the re-employment obligation to another employer, with your agreement, OR
- Offer you a one-off Employment Assistance Payment (EAP).
- Contract
- Your re-employment contract should be for at least 1 year, renewable every year up to age 68.
The first initial contract of re-employment should start on the same day you turn 63 years. If you turn 63 on 1 August 2022, your re-employment contract’s initial start date should be 1 August 2022.
Salary and benefits
Your salary may be adjusted based on reasonable factors such as new duties or responsibilities. You should negotiate these changes with your employer when you finalise your new contract. A good reference is the Tripartite Guidelines on Re-employment of Older Employees.
Negotiating a re-employment contract
Keep the following in mind when negotiating the terms of a re- employment contract.
For employers
Identify eligible employees for re-employment. Begin discussions as early as 6 months before your employee turns 63.
For eligible employees, offer a re-employment contract at least 3 months before their retirement date.
For employees who do not qualify, inform them early so that they can better prepare for their retirement or seek other employment opportunities.
Refer to the Tripartite Guidelines when making your re-employment offer.
Ensure terms and conditions are fair and reasonable. For employees
Make your job preferences known early in the consultation process. Be flexible and keep an open mind about possible changes to your job arrangement or employment terms. Re-employment by another employer If your employer is unable to re-employ you, your employer can transfer re-employment obligations to another employer upon meeting these two conditions:
The new employer must agree to take over the prevailing re- employment obligations to you from your present employer, AND You must agree to the re-employment offer by the new employer. You are not obliged to accept a re-employment offer by the new employer, and will be entitled to an Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) from your present employer should you choose to turn down the offer.
