We refer to the article “Govt plan to engage public on ageing issues” (Straits Times, May 28).

National action plan on aging?

It states that “A NATIONAL action plan to help Singapore’s seniors live meaningful lives as they age is expected to be ready by next year.

This “coherent national agenda” will include helping them learn new things, getting the workplace to be more welcoming, and making it easier for them to live with their families.

These measures will not just allow seniors to remain active, but also to have “their days filled with excitement”, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday.

This “Nation for all Ages” action plan he announced in Parliament will also cover employment, volunteerism, urban infrastructure, health care, retirement adequacy and research into ageing.

Mr Gan, who also chairs the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, said there will be a series of public consultations, starting from the middle of this year, to find out what people want. He said: “Ageing is a conversation that involves all of us – our aspirations for our silver years, how we hope to live our life to the fullest, how we wish to relate to peers and younger persons, and the kind of society we wish to live in when we age.”

What Mr Gan wants to see is a shift in people’s mindsets – “from worrying about the challenges that come from ageing to celebrating longevity.”

Ignoring the obvious, important issues?

In our view, the most obvious, important and urgent issue that many of our senior citizens face, is the large number of elderly Singaporeans working for very low pay.

So many low-pay elderly workers?

For example, how many of the more than 110,000 full-time local workers earning less than $1,000 (before the employee CPF contribution) are elderly Singaporeans?

We believe it may be the majority of them. Anecdotally, just look at the cleaners at the food courts and hawker centres, toilets, road sweepers, airport trolley handlers, etc.

Real wages drop from age 37 to 20% less than when they were age 25?

Also, according to the study on retirement adequacy (“ADEQUACY OF SINGAPORE’S CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND PAYOUTS: INCOME REPLACEMENT RATES OF ENTRANT WORKERS”) commissioned by the Government in November 2012 – the graph on page 6 – the real growth in wages at the 30th percentile of income male workers – starts to decline from around age 37 until by age 65 – they are earning about 20% less than what they were getting at age 25!

Widespread age discrimination?

Are there any countries in the world that has such “pathetic”  statistics indicating age discrimination in jobs and pay?

The reality vs the rhetoric?

Instead of nice sounding words like “from one of worry to one of celebration” and “to have their days filled with excitement” – shouldn’t we be at least talking about or addressing the widespread age discrimination in Singapore that may have lead to so many elderly Singaporeans working very long hours for very low pay?

This may be especially so now that we are mooting the extension of re-employment from age 65 to 67.

Still singing the same song?

In this connection, perhaps as long as we keep saying things like “‘S’poreans first’ hiring not good for economy in the long term” (Straits Times, May 28) in Parliament – the continuing influx of cheap foreign labour may continue to depress the wages of elderly Singaporeans who may not have seen any real growth in wages for almost 15 years now, other than ever longer working hours.

SY Lee and Leong Sze Hian