Mid-career workers feel most financially exposed despite leading on promotions

Only 10% of workers aged 27 to 39 strongly agree they feel good about their financial health.

Singapore's mid-career professionals are being promoted at the highest rate of any age group but report the lowest financial security in the workforce, according to ADP Research's People at Work 2026 Report.

Half of Singapore workers aged 27 to 39 said they were recently promoted, the highest share across all age groups.

Yet only 10% of the same cohort strongly agree they feel good about their financial health, the lowest figure of any age group in Singapore and well below the global norm, where workers aged 55 to 64 report the lowest financial security at the same 10% rate.

At the younger end of the workforce, Singapore workers aged 18 to 26 report the highest skills readiness, with 23% strongly agreeing they have the skills needed to advance their careers in the next three years. That figure diverges from the global pattern, where workers aged 27 to 39 lead on skills readiness at 30%.

Only 4% of Singapore workers aged 55 to 64 strongly agree that their employer is investing in the skills needed to advance their careers, the lowest of any age group.

More than a third of the same group (35%) say it has become much harder to change jobs over the past 12 months, the highest share across all age groups, leaving older workers both underinvested in and increasingly immobile.

Jessica Zhang, senior vice president of APAC at ADP, said a multigenerational workforce brings a broader range of expectations but also creates an opportunity to harness diverse strengths.

Zhang said younger employees in Singapore report greater confidence in their skills whilst more experienced workers contribute deep expertise and lower levels of frequent negative stress. "The key is helping these strengths complement one another to drive stronger individual and business outcomes," Zhang said.

The findings are drawn from ADP Research's People at Work 2026 Report, which surveyed workers across multiple markets, including Singapore.

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