Number and Proportion of Prison Inmates Aged Above 55 on Completion of Prison Sentence and Their Employment and Job Retention Rates within Three and Six Months of Release

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number and proportion of prison inmates who are presently above 55 years old; (b) what is the number and proportion of inmates who are presently below 55 years old but will be above 55 years old upon completion of their prison sentence; and (c) for inmates aged above 55 years old upon release, what is the employment rate and job retention rate for them within three months and six months upon their release.

As of end 2020, 1,924 local inmates, that is, those who were Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents, or 20.5% of the local inmate population, were aged above 55 years old.

The number of local inmates who were 55 years old and below as of end 2020 but would be more than 55 years old upon their release, is 492. They formed 5.2% of the local inmate population.

In 2020, there were 1,344 local inmates who were above 55 years old at the point of release. And 56.1% and 72.4% of these inmates found employment within three and six months of their release respectively. These numbers are likely an underestimation, as the data was based on CPF records and thus did not include persons in jobs which do not provide for CPF contributions, such as food delivery riders and private hire car drivers.

For local ex-offenders aged above 55 years old and who were employed within six months of their release, their three-month and six-month job retention rates are 81.6% and 42.5% respectively.