Speech by MOS Dinesh at World Ageing Festival 2026
Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Manpower, Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre
1. Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here. I would like to extend my thanks to Ms Janice Chia, Founder and Managing Director of Ageing Asia, Mr Brandon Lee, Assistant Chief Executive, Workforce Singapore, partners, volunteers and friends.
2. Good morning and welcome to the second day of the World Ageing Festival 2026.
3. I am very pleased to see partners here today who share our vision of cultivating Singapore’s workforce for the longevity era, and are invested in empowering Singaporeans of every age to contribute meaningfully and thrive.
4. The reality today is clear: Seniors are forming an increasing proportion of our workforce. This presents both an economic and social opportunity ahead.
a. From an economic standpoint, seniors today are better-educated and more skilled than previous generations. They also have many years of hard-earned experience and knowledge compared to other age groups. With our seniors living longer, with healthier lives, they now have a longer runway in the workforce, should they wish to continue to contribute.
b. From a social standpoint, employment provides not just income for our seniors – it also offers opportunities for purpose, continued learning and growth, as well as to contribute meaningfully to the community. For those who are more financially secure and whose children have grown up, later life could be the time to pursue their own interests, learn new skills, and do work that aligns best with their values.
5. This is precisely why tripartite partners are committed to facilitating senior employment.
a. We began this journey more than a decade ago, by removing barriers for seniors who wanted to keep working. We committed to progressively raising the retirement and re-employment ages, to shape social norms around ageing and work.
b. In line with this commitment, we will continue to raise the retirement and re-employment ages to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030.
6. Building on this foundation, the tripartite partners are taking ambitious and practical steps to support workers and employers. We will empower our seniors to embark on longer careers if they wish to do so, pursue more varied job roles, and support employers in managing a multi-generational workforce.
7. MOM, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) set up the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment, or TWG-SE, in July last year. The TWG-SE has two key objectives:
a. Empowering senior workers to be productive and employable; and
b. Promoting age-friendly jobs and multi-generational workplaces, that can support greater flexibility and help Singaporeans plan for career longevity.
8. Both workers and employers will play a critical role in harnessing this demographic shift. With a longer productive lifespan ahead, Singaporeans will face multiple waves of business and technological change, and their own life priorities may also shift over time. This means that Singaporeans must take greater ownership of their careers, skills, and work arrangements.
9. But Singaporeans do not need to navigate this journey alone. Tripartite partners are indeed taking steps to help Singaporeans to plan for lifelong careers.
a. We are strengthening Career Health SG by working with and developing the Career and Employment Services sector. We will grow the sector so that there is a variety of good quality services to cater to different segments of seniors, to help them plan ahead, navigate transitions, and build sustainable careers over a longer working life.
b. For a start, WSG has piloted targeted career guidance programmes, such as Republic Polytechnic’s Designing Your Life – The Next Chapter, and SUTD’s What’s Next: Reimagining Your Career Using Design·AI. These workshops are tailored to support individuals in their 50s and 60s, to craft and pursue later-stage careers based on their priorities and preferences at their life stage.
c. We have been encouraged by the strong demand for these workshops, and the good feedback we have received from nearly all the 1,300 over participants. After 6 months, 4 in 5 reported that the workshops have benefited their career journey. These career journeys include pursuing fractional work that taps on their wisdom and experience, while allowing them more time to pursue other life priorities, such as board directorships and project-based work.
10. Employers also play a critical role in determining how workplaces adapt, and how seniors can continue to contribute to their fullest potential. As workers move into later stages of their careers, some may wish to continue full-time work, while others may prefer reduced hours or more focused roles. Some may require adjustments over time as their priorities, health status or physical abilities change.
11. MOM has also made recent moves to encourage and support employers in building thriving workplaces that support lifelong careers:
a. We have extended the Senior Employment Credit to December 2027, to support employers who hire and retain senior workers.
b. To help employers to rethink how jobs are designed and offer suitable part-time and flexible work options, we have extended the Part-Time Re-employment Grant, or PTRG, to December 2027. Beyond financial support, the PTRG equips employers with the knowledge and skillsets to conduct Structured Career Planning and provide more part-time and flexible work arrangements.
12. However, we must go beyond the traditional job designs that most employers provide today and improve the ecosystem to support transitions across a longer career lifespan.
a. This can be done through the Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers, or AfA-EMW. We are working with 30 organisations to test innovative yet practical work models, that could be scaled up if successful.
b. For example, the pilot by QED Changemakers gives us a glimpse of how we can unlock senior expertise in new ways. By connecting experienced senior professionals with companies that need their expertise on a project basis, senior professionals can continue contributing meaningfully – sharing decades of experience, staying active, and earning an income – while companies get access to experienced leadership when they need it. This may be especially useful for SMEs, which may not have the resources or need to hire senior professionals on a sustained or full-time basis.
c. I am glad to see that organisations within the AfA-EMW have been actively contributing their learnings, even as they are testing out their innovations. More than ten of these organisations will be presenting at this WAF, during the Career Showcase to seniors and the “Longevity Leadership” Ageing Asia Innovation Forum panels. I encourage all of you to have rich discussions with them – you can find them at the WSG Pavilion.
d. As careers extend, navigating transitions will become more crucial. Support measures may not always work as effectively as we like them to, if workers do not have clear pathways to plan for their later-stage career transitions, or employers do not know where to get started on age-friendly workplace design. These are challenges we will see moving forward.
e. To address this, the TWG-SE is studying a more integrated approach to support career longevity, and whether to deliver this through a dedicated centre for career longevity. This centre seeks to bring service providers together to raise awareness, collaborate, as well as develop and scale solutions for longer, multi-stage careers.
13. Today, I am heartened to see that tripartite partners are not alone in our efforts and all of us are here together. We have many like-minded allies in this room. With our collective commitment and shared vision, I am confident that we can build societies that can fully maximise the potential of an ageing workforce. I truly believe that Singapore can stand out among many of the countries around the world who are facing similar issues, and perhaps we’ll be able to find new insights.
14. On that note, I wish you a fulfilling session. Thank you very much.