MADAM Tang Ah Moy retired two years ago when she turned 62, from her job as nursing director at Singapore General Hospital.
But she made a comeback this March, re-employed in a newly created position of a patient relations ambassador at the hospital.
Her duties now include getting patients' feedback about their concerns and how to improve services.
'After sitting at home for some time, I didn't think I could spend the next 20 years doing the same thing,' says the 64-year-old grandmother of two, adding rhetorically: 'How much travelling or shopping can I do?'
So she returned to work, not just for the 'pocket money', but to stay in touch with colleagues and up-to-date with health-care issues.
Madam Tang is among 250 employees at SingHealth health-care group who are aged above 62. They form 2 per cent of its 14,000 workforce. About one-fifth are aged 50 and above.
Right now, about 70 per cent of the staff who reach retirement age at 62 at SingHealth's nine organisations are re-employed.
But SingHealth wants to raise the bar to 80 per cent.
To do so, it launched a new initiative, Silver Connection, to encourage employees to continue working after retirement.
Deputy labour chief Lim Swee Say yesterday launched the new initiative, and commended SingHealth for its efforts to re-employ older workers, an issue the labour movement has been trying to get employers to act on.
The new Silver Connection service is headed by Ms Helen Lim, 59, who retired last year as a regional human resource director in an American firm.
It aims to 'renew, rewire and refresh' older employees by organising financial planning talks and activities.
About 40 retired nurses and health professionals have returned to work part-time or on a project-basis since the Connection started activities in March.
SingHealth, a unionised organisation, will offer jobs for 100 retired staff in the next few weeks, as research coordinators, call centre staff and feedback coordinators.
'This is an excellent example of good use of valuable skills and experiences,' noted Mr Lim.
SingHealth's deputy chief executive officer Karen Koh, said having more older people stay on to work 'will debunk the misguided notion that older persons are a drain on organisational and national resources'.
Mr Yeo Chiang Guan, 69, agrees. He 'retired' 14 years ago as a laboratory supervisor at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, but has never stopped working. He is now a part-time medical technologist at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, peering into microscopes to identify abnormal cells.
Asked if he plans to retire, the grandfather says: 'I like to continue working.'