Singapore to lift retirement age to 65 and re-employment age to 70 from 2029

A CNA explainer, drawing on interviews with employment lawyers, sets out how the Employment Act protects employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave, including the bar on giving dismissal notice during maternity leave and the need for a genuine reason unrelated to the pregnancy, such as proven misconduct after a due inquiry. It cites MOM figures that 387 pregnancy-related wrongful dismissal claims were filed at TADM between April 2019 and 2025, and a September 2026 tribunal award of S$19,800 to a woman found to have been wrongfully dismissed.

Retrenchments jumped to 4,620 in the second quarter — the highest quarterly total since late 2020, Malay Mail reports. MOM says the driver isn’t cost-cutting or company closures; it’s businesses reorganising and restructuring as they digitalise and automate. Vacancies still outnumber jobseekers overall, but the spike points to employers recalibrating faster than expected.

Soup Empire Holdings, which runs the Lao Huo Tang restaurant chain, still owes about $18,900 in CPF contributions for May to July. On 21 Oct the State Courts adjourned its case to 11 Nov so it can pay the rest.

A 41-year-old Malaysian was sentenced on 22 Oct to six years and one month’s jail and fined S$6,000 for brokering work permit applications so 27 Malaysians could enter Singapore and open bank accounts for a syndicate. His charges included offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and he has filed an appeal.

MOM said on 24 Oct it is investigating Process Maintenance Solutions and Jurong Technical & Construction over salary arrears owed to migrant workers. It is working with the Migrant Workers’ Centre and TADM to help affected workers with salary claims, accommodation and alternative jobs.

With childcare leave now expanded, MOM has set out how it plans to help employers absorb the extra manpower gaps that come with it — announced 10 September 2026. The headline measure: employers get full reimbursement for the duration of child-related leave taken by their staff, intended to offset the cost of bringing in temporary…