TR EMERITUS

I REFER to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's comments in "I don't think there should be a retirement age: MM" (July 29). Japanese Nobel Laureate Dr Leo Esaki once spoke on the relationship between longevity and retirement age. He revealed that the pension funds in many large companies such as AT&T, Boeing, Lockheed, Lucent, and so on, are overfunded as many who retire at the age of 65, usually die within two years of retirement. Separately, Dr Ephrem Cheng of the University of Alberta did an actuarial study of lifespan versus age at retirement, based on the number of pension cheques sent to Boeing Aerospace retirees. It found that staff who retire at the age of 50 had an average lifespan of 86. Those who retire at the age of 65 live to an average age of just 66.8. This study concludes that for every year a person works beyond the age of 55, he lives an average of two years less. In other words, Boeing employees who retire at the age of 65 receive pension cheques for only 18 months, on average, before dying. Lockheed, similarly, found that employees retiring at the age of 65 take only an average of 17 months of pension prior to death. People who retire at the age of 65 or older probably put too much stress on their ageing bodies and minds, such that they develop serious health problems that ultimately force them to retire. With such long-term stress-related problems, they die within two years after they retire. On the flipside, people who retire early might either be richer or better able to plan and manage the various aspects of their life, health and career well, such that they can afford to retire early and comfortably. Many of these early retirees still continue doing some work, but on a part-time or project basis, at a more leisurely pace, without the stress of the daily grind. Most Japanese workers retire at the age of 60 or under. One wonders if this is a factor contributing to the long average lifespan the Japanese enjoy. The lesson here: As you get older, you should consider planning your career path and financial matters so that you can retire comfortably at an early age, and enjoy a long and happy life in retirement. On the other hand, if we are encouraged to stay in the pressure-cooker corporate world until the age of 65 or older, it could impact our health and lifespan. I hope Singaporeans will factor in how stressful their jobs are at work when contemplating at what age to retire. There are hidden costs to not having a retirement age that may not be obvious until it is too late. Tan Kok Tim  Read More →

The Singapore Police Force has been rapped for financial lapses in the latest report by the Auditor's General's Office (AGO) for the financial year ended March this year. According to a Straits Times report, the police has been slow to seek payment from prosecuting agencies for each warrant of arrest amounting to losses in revenue amount to some $648,000 between 1997 and last year. The police is required under the law to impose a fee of $25 for each warrant of arrest enforced by prosecuting agencies such as town councils and statutory boards for offences such as littering. There were also lapses in maintenance contracts worth $2.6 million dollars for surveillance camera systems of which the police did not bother to impose liquidated damages on two contractors who failed to deliver the services provided. The names of the contractors were not revealed. There were no immediate comments from the Singapore police force which has come under intense public scrutiny lately. Unlike other developed countries, Singapore has no independent Public Complaints bureau to check on the police which wields tremendous power over the citizenry.     Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

I have been a StarHub subscriber since year 2000. When SingTel announced that they had secured the broadcasting rights for the EPL and ESPN, I knew I had to subscribe to Singtel mioTV in order to continue watching the EPL as I am a diehard soccer fan. To my surprise, I found out from Singtel that I had to apply for a SingTel fixed line in order to have mioTV. This is completely unacceptable. All the while, when I was a StarHub subscriber, they provided a free fixed line for me. As a Sales Manager, I have always believed that market competition will ultimately always benefit the consumer, but not in this case when Singtel is forcing consumers to pay for an extra phone line which would not be used at all. Furthermore, in The New Paper article dated 12 Oct 2009, Mr Allen Lew, CEO of Singtel said that he will not force a basic package on sports fans and not to charge them more than what they’re paying StarHub to get their sports fix on pay television and multimedia. I find his statement totally contradictory to the action Singtel is displaying today and I hope you can either reconsider your offer or at least get your CEO to publicly explain what his original statement meant.     Frankie Lim  Read More →