Re‑employment of public sector officers above the age of 62

Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on re-employment of public sector officers above the age of 62

Parliamentary Sitting Date: 6 March 2007

Mdm Halimah Yacob: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) if he will provide an update on the efforts to promote the re-employment of officers above the age of 62 in the Civil Service and statutory boards; and (b) what percentage of those who reached the age of 62 were re-employed last year and what were the terms and conditions of their employment.

Oral Reply (for the Prime Minister) by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister in charge of the Civil Service and Minister for Defence:

The Civil Service and the Statutory Boards recognise that as a large employer, the public sector has a role to play in improving employment opportunities and employability of older workers.  One key area we have moved on is the re-employment of officers who have retired upon reaching the age of 62. 

In September last year, the public sector refined its re-employment policy to make it easier for agencies to re-employ their retired officers.  Agencies were encouraged to actively consider offering re-employment to retiring officers, particularly those who have contributed well and who can continue to value add to the organisation.  Procedures were changed such that agencies need no longer conduct an open recruitment exercise if it re-employs its retired officer within six months from his retirement. The public sector also aligned its guidelines on the remuneration package for re-employed officers with the “Tripartite Guidelines on the Employment of Older Workers Above 62 Years Old”. Re-employed officers are paid based on the scope of work and responsibility that they are given when they are re-employed.  Re-employed officers need not be limited to doing their previous jobs at their previous pay.  Those who are given a smaller job scope and responsibility will be paid a salary that is commensurate with the size of the new job. Re-employed officers can be employed on various flexible work arrangements, including on a full time, part-time, or on a project basis.

In 2006, about 1,110 officers retired from the Civil Service.  A total of 207 officers aged 62 years and above were re-employed. This represents about 19% of the total number of retired officers in 2006. Those re-employed included education officers, clerical officers and immigration officers.  Some performed new roles, for example, teachers who were re-trained for school counsellor positions while others continued in similar roles upon re-employment. For the statutory boards, as a whole, about a total of 370 officers retired in 2006. The number of re-employed officers was 361, representing more than 90% of retired officers.  The majority of those re-employed in the statutory boards were daily-rated employees and Assistant Technicians

The Civil Service has also recently started an older worker database where retiring and retired civil servants can sign up to be on the programme if they wish to be considered for job assignments in the public sector after their retirement. This programme will eventually be extended to include statutory board employees.