Singapore’s statutory retirement age rises to 64 years and the re-employment age rises to 69 years from 1 July 2026 — in 22 days from the date of publication. For most HR managers and employers, this is not news in principle; MOM announced the timeline in early 2026. In practice, however, a significant number of organisations have not yet updated their employment contracts, HR policies, or re-employment offer letter templates. If your business employs Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents who are or will soon be in their early sixties, this compliance checklist is for you.
This article explains who is affected, what your obligations are under the Retirement and Re-employment Act (RRA), how the Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) works as a last resort, and what government support is available to offset the cost of retaining older workers. These are statutory requirements — not guidelines — and non-compliance with the RRA carries criminal penalties.
What Changes on 1 July 2026: Retirement Age 64 and Re-employment Age 69
From 1 July 2026:
- The minimum retirement age rises from 63 to 64 years. Employers cannot retire eligible employees before they reach age 64.
- The re-employment age ceiling rises from 68 to 69 years. Employers must offer re-employment to eligible employees from age 64 up to age 69.
This is part of a phased roadmap: the Government has committed to raising these thresholds further to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030. The 2026 change is the penultimate step.
Who is covered by the retirement age change: Employees born on or after 1 July 1963 — i.e., those who turn 63 on or after 1 July 2026 — are now protected by the higher retirement age of 64. You cannot retire them at 63.
Who is covered by the re-employment age change: Employees born on or after 1 July 1958 — i.e., those who have not yet turned 68 as at 1 July 2026 — benefit from the extended re-employment ceiling of 69.
Important: these obligations apply only to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Foreign employees on Employment Passes, S Passes, or Work Permits are not covered by the RRA’s retirement and re-employment thresholds. The RRA applies strictly to SC and SPR employees.
Employer Obligations Under the Retirement and Re-employment Act
Per MOM’s retirement and re-employment guidance, employers have statutory obligations when employees reach the retirement age. Under the Retirement and Re-employment Act (Cap. 274A), employers with employees who reach the retirement age of 64 must comply with the following:
Obligation 1: Offer Re-employment
When an eligible employee turns 64, the employer must offer re-employment in writing before the employee’s birthday. The re-employment offer should set out the terms — role, salary, working hours — on a contract renewable annually from age 64 to 69. The employer is not required to retain the employee in the same role, at the same salary, or on the same hours. Adjustments that are reasonable given the employee’s capacity and the organisation’s needs are permitted, provided the offer is genuine and in good faith.
Eligibility for re-employment requires that the employee is a Singapore Citizen or PR, has worked for the employer continuously for at least three years (or two years if hired at age 55 or older), has satisfactory performance, and is medically fit to continue working.
Obligation 2: Do Not Retire Employees Below the Statutory Age
Compulsory retirement before the statutory age of 64 is prohibited. Dismissing an employee solely on the grounds that they have reached a particular age below 64 is unlawful. Employment contracts and HR policies that reference retirement ages below 64 must be updated before 1 July 2026 to avoid non-compliance.
Obligation 3: Provide an Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) as Last Resort
Where an employer genuinely cannot offer re-employment — for example, because the employee’s role has been made redundant — the employer must pay an Employment Assistance Payment (EAP). The EAP is a one-off lump sum calculated as 3.5 months of the employee’s last drawn salary, subject to a minimum of SGD 5,500 and a maximum of SGD 13,000. This is a last resort, not a substitute for good-faith re-employment efforts.
Senior Employment Credit: Government Support Until December 2027
MOM has extended the Senior Employment Credit (SEC) until December 2027 to offset the cost of employing older workers. The SEC provides wage support to employers who hire SC and SPR employees aged 60 and above:
- Employees aged 60–64: employers receive a wage offset of up to 3% of monthly wages
- Employees aged 65 and above: up to 5%
- Employees aged 69 and above: the highest tier of 7%
The SEC is disbursed automatically by CPF Board based on CPF contribution records — no application is required. The new age thresholds from 1 July 2026 mean that more employees fall into higher SEC tiers, partially mitigating the cost of the higher re-employment age ceiling.
Note also that from 1 January 2026, employer CPF contribution rates for workers aged 55–65 increased by 0.5 percentage points. Employers should factor both the re-employment obligation and the CPF rate change into FY2027 workforce budgets. For a full breakdown of current CPF rates and obligations, see the Singapore Payroll and CPF Guide 2026 on the Raffles Corporate Services website.
Does This Affect Foreign Employees on Work Passes?
No. The RRA’s retirement and re-employment requirements do not apply to foreign employees on Employment Passes, S Passes, or Work Permits. There is no statutory retirement age for work pass holders. Their employment continues on the terms of their individual contracts and is subject to MOM’s pass validity and renewal rules.
However, employers should be aware that work pass renewal for older EP holders may require re-scoring under the COMPASS framework, including updated salary benchmarks. Our EP COMPASS Renewal Audit Guide for July 2026 explains the renewed scoring requirements in full detail.
HR Action Checklist: What to Do Before 1 July 2026
With less than a month to go, prioritise these actions:
- Identify affected employees. Pull a list of all SC and SPR employees born on or after 1 July 1963 (retirement age change) and on or after 1 July 1958 (re-employment ceiling change). Confirm their employment contract terms.
- Update employment contracts and HR policies. Remove or revise any clauses that specify a retirement age below 64. Ensure your re-employment policy references the new ceiling of 69.
- Update re-employment offer letter templates. Ensure templates reflect yearly-renewable terms from age 64 to 69 and include EAP provisions for situations where re-employment genuinely cannot be offered.
- Brief line managers. Line managers who handle performance reviews and salary discussions for employees approaching 64 need to understand the statutory obligations and what constitutes a lawful vs. unlawful basis for employment decisions.
- Prepare re-employment offers for employees turning 64 in the second half of 2026. Offers should be made in writing before the employee’s birthday. Do not wait until the last week.
- Check SEC disbursement records. Confirm that you are receiving the correct SEC tier credits for eligible workers via CPF Board. If you have recently hired older workers, ensure CPF contributions are being made correctly.
For a full 12-month view of MOM and HR compliance milestones, including levy deadlines, quota submissions, and the July 2026 LQS increase, see our MOM HR Compliance Calendar 2026.
How These Changes Interact with Your Broader Workforce Strategy
The retirement and re-employment age increases do not happen in isolation. Singapore’s workforce strategy for older workers sits alongside the Progressive Wage Model, the CPF contribution rate increases for mid-career employees, and the levy and quota rules governing foreign worker hiring. Employers who have been relying on replacing departing older workers with foreign hires will need to model these changes together.
If your workforce includes a mix of SC/SPR employees approaching 64 and foreign EP or S Pass holders, it is worth doing a holistic workforce cost review now. Changes to S Pass salary thresholds from January 2027, the updated COMPASS benchmarks, and the new re-employment obligations all interact in ways that affect workforce planning and payroll budgets.
Our guide on the true cost of hiring a foreign professional in Singapore in 2026 provides a useful complement to this article for employers weighing local vs. foreign staffing decisions.
How LBEA Can Help
Little Big Employment Agency (LBEA) is a MOM-licensed employment agency (Licence No. 19C9790) supporting Singapore employers with work pass applications, compliance advisory, and workforce planning. If you are reviewing your foreign workforce composition alongside these RRA changes, or need assistance with S Pass or EP applications to complement your local workforce strategy, contact our team via Singapore Employment Agency.
For broader HR compliance support, payroll advisory, and corporate services, Raffles Corporate Services works alongside LBEA to provide end-to-end employer support.
— The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency