SINGAPORE: A Singaporean family is facing financial uncertainty after the father, who is over 50 and the household’s main breadwinner, was retrenched from his job as part of a company-wide layoff affecting more than 100 employees.
On Saturday (Dec 13), his son took to Reddit to vent, writing, “Honestly, this came as a huge shock to me, and I’m still in a daze since I got the news a few days ago.”
“My dad is over 50 and has difficulties finding another job. He is the main income earner of the family as my mom is doing part-time to take care of my grandparents,” he explained. “My parents also don’t have much savings because my grandparents’ medical treatment is quite costly.”
The son, who is about to graduate from polytechnic, also wrote that he had been planning to continue his studies at university next year since he does not need to serve National Service. But with his father’s retrenchment, he now feels unsure about what the best decision for his future would be.
“I’m not sure what to do,” he said. “Initially, my dad told me not to worry and continue uni since my GPA is quite high but the next day he suddenly said I should look for a job and see if there is a high-paying one.”
“You worked hard for that high GPA, so don’t waste it.”
The post has resonated with other Reddit users, many of whom shared messages of support and empathy.
“I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s a huge shock, but please don’t give up on Uni yet,” one user wrote.
“Your dad is panicking because he is looking at the full tuition fees. He likely doesn’t realise that his retrenchment lowers your family’s Per Capita Income (PCI), which actually qualifies you for the highest tier of financial aid. My advice? Apply for Uni anyway. You worked hard for that high GPA, so don’t waste it.”
Another commented, “Sorry to read this. Apply for all the financial aid and bursary schemes available. It’s not embarrassing to apply for these measures. You are a citizen, and this is what the country should do for you.”
A third added, “I’m a working mom. My husband just got retrenched. I was retrenched last year and found a job after 6 months. You just need to take care of yourself. Go to university. Grandparents’ medical bills are not your responsibility. Everyone has to make sure they have insurance or savings and not solely rely on others. You shouldn’t bear any debt for this, and your life just started.”
In other news, a man who had been job hunting for nearly five months took to Reddit to share that the brutal job market had pushed him to accept a toxic contract role with zero work-life balance.
On the r/singaporejobs forum, he explained that when he first started looking for work, he had a clear idea of what he wanted. He was looking for a job with a decent work culture, a healthy and supportive environment, and a role that offered some sense of fulfilment. These were non-negotiables for him.
