How an 80-year-old refuses to retire, and seeks new careers

SINGAPORE – At the age of 80, Anthony Png is pursuing his second diploma and keen to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI).

The former businessman rides a Peugeot Tweet scooter and goes to the gym a couple of times a week. On weekdays, he works as a senior security supervisor at a factory in Senoko Crescent.

Thrice a week at night, he joins classmates, younger than him by decades, in their part-time diploma course in legal executive studies at Temasek Polytechnic, where lessons are conducted both on and offline.

As a boy, Png left school armed with a Higher School Certificate, the equivalent of a pre-university qualification. But in the autumn of his life, he felt the need for more education.

One such milestone was when he turned 55 and thought he would quietly retire, as it was the accepted retirement age then. Another turning point was when his 75th birthday approached and he knew he had to switch careers.

Png, who turns 81 in 2026, has four children and three grandchildren. His 65-year-old wife works in retail.

In the 1960s, he began his working life as a clerk at the Singapore Harbour Board, later known as the Port of Singapore Authority. Eventually, he moved to a shipping firm, where he worked as an operations manager.

In 1979, acting on a desire to become an entrepreneur, he started a construction business called Maintainer.

The firm, which dealt in steel construction and the manufacture of telecommunication towers and other types of infrastructure, had its heyday in the 1990s, with 145 employees and an annual turnover of $15 million at its peak, Png recalls.

But business faded and, in 2000, at age 55, he shuttered the company and experienced the pinch of leaving the workforce.

“I thought it was time for retirement. But when I was at home with nothing to do, I nearly died of boredom,” he says. He was still playing golf three times a week, but his former golf buddies who were employed did not have time for him.

He thought retirement would be “fantastic”, but the reality was different from what he imagined and he became determined to keep working for as long as he could.

For several years, he took on jobs like building furniture and installing CCTV cameras, eventually setting up another company to handle the work. But he found the demands of owning a small business stressful as he grew older and cast around for other work, leaving the company dormant.

He became a taxi driver in his late 60s and subsequently took on the role of training other cabbies. It was a stable job, but entering his 70s brought some anxiety as he knew he had to stop work by 75, the age limit for taxi and private-hire car drivers.

“Before I reached 75, I was trying to decide what to do after I turned 75 in 2020. My qualifications then were so poor,” he says. “I have to plan for myself. Every individual should plan what his next step is, what sort of job he wants.”

The security services looked like a good option. He did his research and found out that, with a diploma, he could set up his own security firm someday if he wanted.

Between 2020 and 2022, Png enrolled in Temasek Polytechnic to pursue a diploma in security, his first foray into higher education. At 75, he started as a condominium security guard before rising up the ranks to a senior security supervisor.

This career pivot, one of many in his lifetime, has led to opportunities for further studies.

“When I was working as a security manager, I realised that the job is linked to facility management,” he says. For example, he says knowing how to calculate how much light is needed per square foot saves money for a condominium.

To learn more, in 2022, Png did a months-long course in facility and energy management at BCA Academy, the education and training arm of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

In recent years, he has also taken more than 20 short courses at Temasek Polytechnic. Most relate to his late-life profession, gaining him certificates in fire safety, cybersecurity, private investigation and electrical systems. He also signed up for workshops in fields he is interested in, such as generative AI.

His yen for lifelong learning and reinvention is driven by a mix of internal and external factors.

“I believe it is partly innate, partly a need to develop myself,” he says. “I realised that as one grows older, one has to acquire more knowledge. It could also enhance my job and career.”

He started his present course in legal executive studies in 2024 because he has long been interested in the law. He will graduate from Temasek Polytechnic with his second diploma in 2027.

Most of his qualifications have been financed by government-funded SkillsFuture subsidies and credits.

“It’s not easy to study. You must have a clear and acute mind. I want to prove to people that it doesn’t mean you cannot master complex subjects when you grow old,” he says, adding that he spends hours now studying statutes.

He is unflustered about scoring C grades: “This is something new to me. I don’t have to be the best; I’m hoping to pass.”

Png admits to digital challenges too as a senior in higher education, such as teething problems with Microsoft Teams video calls and accessing lecture recordings. But he gets along fine with course mates who could be his grandchildren, he adds. Some exchange “good morning” greetings and well wishes with him via WhatsApp.

“If seniors want to study, they have to monitor their health,” he advises. He checks his blood pressure religiously, exercises regularly and quit his habit of 60 cigarettes a day decades ago.

“Lifelong learning is something I treasure. I’m looking for my next course, which could be AI. Gaining knowledge prevents one from ageing mentally and helps one solve problems effectively,” Png says.

He claims never to have experienced ageism in and out of the classroom, but adds it is possibly because he “doesn’t behave like an 80-year-old”.