The SEC was first introduced as a 2011 Budget initiative to raise the employment rate of older low-wage Singaporeans. In 2016, it was extended for 3 years (viz. 2017 to 2019) to provide wage offsets to employers hiring Singaporean workers aged 55 and above, and earning up to $4,000.
To encourage employers to voluntarily re-employ Singaporeans above the re-employment age, it was announced at Budget 2015 that an additional wage offset up to 3 (ASEC) would be introduced in 2015.
The re-employment age was raised from 65 to 67 from 1 July 2017. The new re-employment age of 67 applies to those who turn 65 on or after 1 July 2017; in other words, those born on or after 1 July 1952.
The additional wage offset of 3% was extended from 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2019 to encourage employers to voluntarily re-employ employees who are not covered by the new re-employment age.
As announced at Budget 2019, the SEC and ASEC will be extended for one more year until end-2020.