Supporting employee financial wellbeing: A Singapore-based aerospace company

Lunch time talks form the bulk of our programmes. These are scheduled talks from financial advisors. All staff are free to sign up for these talks and, since it is held over the lunch hour, a bento lunch is provided for all attendees.

Examples of the talks include:

• Retirement planning
• Medical insurance coverage options eg including some with investment/endowment funds

Going forward, a course on retirement planning will be incorporated within the Corporate Learning Roadmap as a formal programme within the training plan.

We noticed that retirement planning within certain segments of our workforce was poor or had not happened at all. Without retirement planning, some of the common challenges which our retiring/retired employees face include:

• No medical insurance coverage and unable to purchase new medical insurance coverage
• Appeals for continued employment as they could not afford to retire
• Appeals for loans to tide over financial difficulties
• Poor financial decisions prior to retirement

With the extension of retirement and re-employment age, a sizeable segment of our workforce (employed) was not particularly concerned about their long-term financial wellbeing or actively planning for retirement. Many assumed they will continue to be re-employed into old age and do not actively plan for their retirement.

For example, in the past, when retirement age was 60 years old (without re-employment), employees planned for their retirement actively.

Currently, retirement planning has lost its priority.

Lunchtime talks – HR scheduled such talks within an annual calendar of lunchtime talks. Such talks are publicised in the employee portal to inform the workforce and enable them to register.

Registrations and interests for such talks have not been overwhelming. However, we recognise the importance of financial awareness towards employee wellbeing. Therefore, a decision was taken to formalise retirement planning as a training course.

Going forward, Retirement Planning will be a course within the Corporate Learning Roadmap, and employees may be nominated to attend this course during the annual training nomination exercise.

Employees who realise the importance of financial planning are attending these talks, but those who don’t are not and registration is voluntary. So we now have a plan to incorporate retirement planning into the corporate learning roadmap as a formal course.

Look at employee wellbeing beyond their employment with the company, particularly for long-serving employees. Recognise different levels of awareness and needs of different segments of the workforce. Finally, sustain the programme and tailor it to the evolving landscape to remain relevant with the times, such as policy changes specific to Singapore’s context (CPF, re-employment, medical insurance etc.)