Home Team Promotion Ceremony 2024 – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Home Team colleagues; Ladies and gentlemen.

Introduction

1. Good evening to all of you. Congratulations to all the promotees. It was a very nice video, and I think it captured the essence of what you all feel for your promotions.

2. Thank you for your efforts. The Home Team has continued to do well because of you and your colleagues.

3. Every year, we talk about the surveys we do as to how the public views us. Among the many important indices, the trust that the public have in the Home Team is a critical element that we look at very carefully.

4. The latest public perception survey, conducted from late last year to early-2024, showed very high levels of trust, which are not seen in most places around the world, continue in Singapore. 92% said that they trusted the Home Team, and 93% said that they had confidence in the Home Team’s ability to keep Singapore safe and secure. And generally, year after year, over 90% say they feel safe walking home alone at night. To me, that is a critical factor and most important human right accorded.

5. In February of this year, we launched the Home Team Day. That represents our continued commitment to work together as One Home Team. You saw that sentiment coming up in the video. Even as we congratulate you today, all the promotees, those who are with us, and those who are not present, we recognise the support that the entire Home Team gives for each of us to succeed and get promotions.

6. With that, my speech today is short. I make one important announcement, but it has two aspects.

Raising of Retirement Age

7. First, the announcement relates to our manpower situation. It is tight and we constantly review our HR policies.

8. For some time, we have been looking at our retirement age.

9. We have made a decision to extend our retirement age again.

10. With effect from 1st January 2025 , the retirement age for the Home Affairs Uniformed Services (HUS) will be raised by one year , to 57 .

11. This means that uniformed officers serving in the Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Police Force, and the Singapore Prison Service, who turn 56 on or after the 1st of January 2025, will be able to serve for one additional year .

12. This move will benefit more than 14,00 0 officers. So it is a significant number.

13. We have been doing this for some time now. In 2013, we raised the retirement age for HUS junior officers from 50 to 55, to be in line with our senior officers.

14. In 2021, the retirement age for all HUS officers was raised to 56.

15. After the next raise, but before 2030, we will again raise the retirement age by one more year, to 58 .

16. I think most of us understand why the approach has to be phased. The work at Home Team requires robust training and experience. Our uniformed services have a pure-built workforce model. This means that most of our officers are recruited early on in their career, they are trained, they are developed, they are promoted through the ranks, and they remain in service until retirement.

17. We need a steady inflow and outflow of manpower each year. To meet operational demands and to build a sustainable pipeline of leaders and specialists.

18. Progressively raising the retirement age allows us to manage the changes to manpower flow in a smoother way, and to avoid bottlenecks in higher appointments.

19. The rise in retirement age will now allow us to better tap on the experience and expertise of our officers who, like most Singaporeans, live longer; spend more years in good health and fitness.

20. This group of officers still retire earlier than the national retirement age, which is currently at 63 and will be raised to 64 in 2026.

21. That brings me to the second aspect of the speech.

22. As we place emphasis on raising the retirement age, we also place strong emphasis on helping HUS officers have a meaningful second career after retiring from the Home Team.

23. In the last five years, an average of 135 HUS officers retired each year. 36% of our retirees were re-employed by the Home Team, and we assisted another 40% to transition to new careers .

24. We will do more for our retiring officers.

25. First , we will develop more career pathways under the SkillsFuture train-and-place programmes to help our officers acquire industry-relevant skills and pivot to new sectors after retirement.

26. For example, in February this year, we piloted a Facility & Operations Management Programme with Singapore Polytechnic.

27. Second , we will provide every retiring officer with a personalised career guide. This guide contains recommendations on courses and certification programmes that match their interests and skills, and which might be helpful for their career transition. This was piloted in 2023 and will be fully rolled out this year.

28. Third , we will continue to enhance job prospects and opportunities for our retiring officers. We will do this by strengthening engagements with our alumni and employer networks to provide job referrals and introductions.

29. It is important that our officers know that they are taken care of both in service and when they retire. Because people look at what happens after they finish their service here too.

30. With a longer career, I think it is important to ensure that our officers are well-equipped to perform their roles, as their operating environment changes.

31. Among other initiatives, we will also introduce a skills-based scholarship for our uniformed and civilian officers to help in their professional development.

32. This scholarship will support officers who have the aptitude and interest to go for further studies in specific domain areas that are emerging quickly, require deep domain expertise, and are relevant to the Home Team’s work. For example – artificial intelligence and data analytics.

33. More details on the scholarship will be released later this year.

Conclusion

34. Congratulations again to the officers who will be receiving your promotion letters.

35. I would also like to thank the family members, spouses, some of whom are here today.

36. Your support is what keeps our officers going, and enables them to carry out their duties wholeheartedly.

37. Thank you very much.