AT A time when the Government is exhorting more Singaporeans to work longer, there are those who are one step ahead.

They continue to hold down jobs well past their 60s into their 70s and even 80s.

The most well-known figure in this golden years legion is, of course, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who turns 84 next month.

Then there is President S R Nathan, who is 83, and top local banker Wee Cho Yaw, 78, who is chairman of United Overseas Bank even though he relinquished the chief executive position earlier this year.

They, among the thousands like them out there, demonstrate that grey is the new gold.

The Manpower Ministry labour force survey last year shows that the number of older folk still working almost doubled over the past decade.

In 1996, there were 45,500 workers in their 60s and just 9,400 aged 70 and older.

By last year, the number of workers in their 60s had nearly doubled to 83,600 while the figure for those aged 70 and older had jumped to 15,600.

Proportionally, they represent a small section of the workforce - less than one per cent is above 70 - but the group can be expected to grow as the population ages.

In Japan, for example, which is also facing an ageing workforce, the employment rate of people aged 55 to 64 is 65 per cent, compared to 54 per cent here last year.

In Singapore, four in five of the 44,400 workers aged 65 and older are in the service industry. Among them, some 16,900 are cleaners and labourers, 8,000 are in sales, while about 4,700 work on production lines.

But women lag far behind men. The employment rate for older women was less than one in 10, compared to one in five for men.

Using these figures, Insight checked with the different industries to find out just who are the oldest of these older workers and what keeps them going.

It was impossible, of course, to produce a definitive list as such data is hard to come by. Also, not all work requires certification and registering bodies are wary of disclosing personal details of their members.

Featured in the following pages are a dedicated dozen who are among the oldest in their line of work, being in their 70s and 80s. There is even a nonagenarian - a 90-year-old.

Between them, they have more than 500 years of work experience.

Their reasons for continuing to work are as diverse as the jobs they hold.

Some work just to keep themselves occupied. Seventy-eight-old carpenter Ho Hui Ming adds in jest that work also helps him "escape my wife's nagging".

There are those who do it because they have little or nothing in their retirement nest egg. Operating theatre assistant Osman Abdul, 73, earns $1,200 a month. Despite working for more than half a century, he only has $5,000 in savings and a $200 pension from the Government.

Whatever their reasons, all share a passion for their jobs - which happens to be the simple secret of their career longevity.

Mr Yap Kwei Hock, the 90-year-old, is one of them. He is secretary to a business tycoon, Mr Tan Keong Choon, who is 89.

"I'm so used to the routine of going to the office every day, I'll feel terrible if I don't," says Mr Yap, who has been working for the past 69 years.

In contrast, Mr Goh Ho Wee is just 67 and was born after Mr Yap entered the workforce.

Yet, he is a rarity among IT professionals, the bulk of whom tend to be under 40.

The dedicated dozen represent the start of a new wave of workers who will stay on the job well past the official retirement age.

A Straits Times Insight survey of 636 people on the Central Provident Fund last week shows that two-thirds of those polled want to work beyond the retirement age of 62.

The importance of work for older people also becomes obvious when one considers two other sets of figures.

First, by 2020 there will be half a million people here aged 65 and above, compared to just 306,500 people last year.

Second, the average amount of savings in the CPF of those between 50 and 55 last year stands at $66,000, below the mandated $99,600 Minimum Sum - the amount individuals have to set aside in their CPF for their retirement.

National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary general Halimah Yacob puts it this way: "The need to work longer is something that is widely accepted now as people realise that they are living longer and need to work longer in order to support themselves."

But employers play a key role in determining whether the old can have a meaningful place in the workforce.

The Government will set in place a law to get employers to offer re-employment to workers who have hit the retirement age by 2012.

Some employers, faced with the manpower crunch and ever-fewer younger workers turning up for interviews, are already tapping on the mature workforce.

One such employer is restaurant chain Han's Cafe , which has more than half its 400-strong workforce above the age of 40.

The restaurant chain's deputy general manager Gan Yee Chin, 34, says he prefers older workers to, say, younger foreign workers, as they tend to be more loyal and stay on the job longer.

"They also carry a wealth of experience which is helpful when attending to customers," explains Mr Gan.

"We also see it as our social responsibility to keep those who can and are willing to work on the job. That's our way of giving back to society and to them for sticking with us for so long."

But both the desire and necessity of working longer may have some unintended side effects.

One is that it might result in society seeing value in older people only if they contribute economically.

This may pressure older people to work longer even if they do not feel like it, says National University of Singapore sociology don Paulin Straughan, 42.

She adds: "For some people, work becomes dominant and they may lose sight of why they work. They work because that's the only thing they know."

Madam Halimah notes that the discussion on the issue has been narrowly focused on the idea that work is linked to survival.

"Some also work because they want to. We have to see work as part of active ageing," says Madam Halimah who is 52.

But with more people working, might one look at a friend working and feel pressured to work, even if one does not need to?

Possibly, says Professor Straughan, but unlikely.

She says: "There will be those who value themselves based on the job they do, hence they hold on. But I don't think people will look at their friends going to work and feel as if they should also work."

Madam Halimah adds: "Look at how many drop out at 62. Many, if they can afford it, still value retirement (and) volunteerism and that's fine."

A retirement survey by banking giant HSBC showed that while nearly two in five in their 40s and 50s did volunteer work here, those in their 70s were not too far behind, with 14 per cent of them being active volunteers.

Social worker Samuel Ng, 40, points out that society should also not forget that older people contribute in other areas.

"There are also grandparents who help their working children take care of their children. They count too," says Mr Ng, who is the executive consultant at Marine Parade Family Service Centre.

But for people like Madam Tan Woh Hong, 78, who works part-time as a kitchen helper, the toss-up between staying home and working is a no-brainer.

Madam Tan, who has three children in their 50s and two grandchildren in their 30s, prefers to go to work in a crowded kitchen rather than be cooped up at home alone.

"I have no one to speak to at home and the TV plays the same thing every day. Stay home? What for?"

» Grey, the new GOLD
» Secretary, 90, has no plans to retire
» Roadworks veteran with career on track
» He landed his dream job at 52
» 'Tongkat Ali' still a real asset in operating theatre
» 'Work keeps my mind sharp'
» He goes for business courses to keep up
» He started own security firm at age 64
» The saleswoman who's also the store historian
» 'Old horse' reporter back at a gallop
» Kitchen work is no teary job for 78-year-old
» A seasoned carpenter who's no deadwood
» Back at nursing after 23 years

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