Kuala Lumpur |According to a survey performed by Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in October 2021 under the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC), 4.3 percent out of 5,277 respondents aged 60 and over are working part-time after retirement, with the majority of them being highly trained.
A senior lecturer from UM, Dr Elya Nabila Abdul Bahri, who is involved in the study said, respondents aged 60 to 65 and highly skilled, are more interested in working compared to those who are moderately and less skilled.
She said that the joint study that conducted with a UKM lecturer on ageing and retirement shows that salary and minimum physical work are among the factors that drove them to continue to work and at the same time, they were also drawn to the flexible working arrangements without having to be tied to the various regulations at the workplace.
In terms of health, psycho-social functioning, and mental capacity, she added that those who rejoin the labor have a greater level of well-being (a pleasant condition felt by individuals and societies), which is 5.6% higher than that of those who are fully retired.
She believed that employers should prepare and plan the type of work suitable for this group based on their capabilities before deciding to raise the retirement age cap to 65. She also believed that they should undergo periodic health checks due to the general belief that those who have reached the age of 65 are not suitable for work as they are frequently linked with declining health.
Previously, the Social Protection Contributors Advisory Association (SPCAAM) suggested permitting employees in the public and private sectors to continue working until age 65 if they wanted to.
Eyla Nabila believes that the proposal should be taken seriously because many people in the target age group are struggling financially, particularly private sector workers who would be totally dependent on their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) investments after retirement.
Two-thirds, or 71 percent, of EPF active contributors 55 and younger do not have enough money to lift themselves out of poverty, according to reports in the media.
