SINGAPORE: Day after day, it was the same routine for him after he retired. A swim each morning and watching television for the rest of the day.

Occasionally, he would bring his prized birds to a pet shop in Clementi, where he chatted with fellow bird enthusiasts over coffee.

“I think he felt that life in Singapore was very monotonous,” Joseph, his son, told CNA.

"He just kept saying there was nothing to do," he added. 

At 85, Joseph’s father died by suicide.

Joseph's father was among a group that experts said deserves greater attention: older men.

According to Singapore’s latest suicide statistics released by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), older men accounted for three in four suicides among those aged 60 and above in 2024. Of the 120 deaths in that age group, 90 were men and 30 were women.

Across all age groups, men accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 441 suicide deaths recorded that year. Provisional data for 2025 show a similar proportion. 

Experts say vulnerability in later life often stems not from a single event, but from a combination of life transitions - retirement, declining health, shrinking social circles and a reluctance to seek help.

WHEN WORK BECOMES IDENTITY

For many older men, work is closely tied to their sense of self.

Professor Paulin Straughan, director of the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing and sociology professor from the Singapore Management University, said traditional gender roles meant that many men devoted themselves almost entirely to paid work. 

Over time, work became most men’s “total self”, Prof Straughan said.

“They are so overcompensated in their commitment to paid work that they leave insufficient time for building social networks,” she added.

The consequences often become app...