As an HR practitioner for more than 25 years, I have observed that older workers, particularly those above 50, often face a double disadvantage in today’s employment market. They are more vulnerable during retrenchment exercises and, once retrenched, face greater difficulties securing another job with comparable salaries and responsibilities.

Why is this happening?

Firstly, older workers generally command higher salaries because of their longer years of service, experience, and accumulated annual increments. Our wage increase structure has been seniority-based instead of productivity-gain-based. When companies restructure to reduce operating costs, these employees may become more vulnerable, particularly when management focuses on immediate payroll savings rather than the long-term value of their experience.

Secondly, age discrimination, whether conscious or unconscious, remains a concern. Some employers perceive older workers as less adaptable, slower to learn, or less technologically competent. Such assumptions are often unfair and fail to recognise the experience, institutional knowledge and problem-solving abilities that older employees bring to the workplace.

However, another important factor is the increasingly shorter product life cycle and the rapid pace of technological change.

In the past, products and technologies remained relevant for decades. Take the humble typewriter, for example. It remained in widespread use for more than a hundred years, allowing generations of workers to acquire and apply the same skills essentially throughout much of their working lives.

Today, the situation is vastly different. Product life cycles have shortened considerably. New technologies, software, automation and artificial intelligence are constantly replacing existing systems and work processes. Skills that were relevant just five years ago may already be outdated.

This means that training can no longer be a one-off exercise. Workers must undergo more frequent training, reskilling and upgrading throughout their careers simply to remain employable.

Unfortunately, some older workers may not have received sufficient opportunities to upgrade their skills. Employers, too, must shoulder part of this responsibility. It would be unfair to neglect employees’ training needs for years and subsequently declare them redundant because their skills have become obsolete.

The difficulties do not end with retrenchment. Older workers seeking re-employment frequently encounter another set of obstacles. Some are considered overqualified, while others are rejected because employers fear that they will demand higher salaries or struggle to adapt to younger teams.

Many also discover that the jobs available to them offer significantly lower salaries than what they previously earned. A manager who once earned $7,000 a month may find that prospective employers are only prepared to offer $3,500 to $4,500. Accepting such a reduction can be financially and psychologically challenging.

Singapore has progressively raised its retirement and re-employment ages. From 1 July 2026, these increased to 64 and 69, respectively. While this is a positive development, we must ask ourselves an important question:

What is the point of extending the retirement and re-employment ages if employers are reluctant to recruit workers once they reach their 50s?

From an HR perspective, retrenchment decisions should be based on genuine business needs, objective performance assessments and job requirements, rather than age alone.

Employers should also invest in continuous training, explore redeployment opportunities and recognise the value of experienced employees. Older workers, on their part, must be prepared to embrace change, learn new skills and adapt to evolving workplace requirements.

Ultimately, employability is a shared responsibility between employers, employees and the Government.

We cannot expect people to work longer without ensuring that they have the skills, opportunities and fair treatment necessary to remain employed.

Age should never be the sole measure of an employee’s worth. Experience is an asset, but in today’s rapidly changing world, experience must also be complemented by continuous learning.

Martin Gabriel
Senior HR Consultant
Founder & Chairman, HRmatters21