Singapore to legislate on right to work until 65

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks during a lunch address organised by the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore in this December 5, 2008 file photo.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore plans to compel firms to offer re-employment to staff when they reach retirement age and introduce an annuity to help it cope with a rapidly ageing population, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday.

"We are legislating not to further delay the retirement age, but to require employers to offer re-employment to workers at 62 for another three years until 65, though not necessarily in the same job or at the same pay," Lee said at a conference organised by AARP, a U.S. organisation that represents senior citizens.

Singapore was considering changes to the Central Provident Fund, which all working Singaporeans must contribute to, such that citizens will receive a steady stream of income for the rest of their lives after they reach 65, he added.

Lee, however, ruled out offer free healthcare, although he acknowledged that many Singaporeans were concerned about the spiralling cost of medical treatment.

"A free healthcare system is not the answer. It is an attractive ideal, but experience in many countries has shown that in practice 'free' healthcare leads to uncontrollable and unsustainable demand for healthcare services," he said.

Singapore has one of the world's lowest birth rates, with the average woman bearing 1.29 children in her lifetime, and the government expects one-fifth of the population will be 65 years or older by 2030.