Fortifying Singapore's four pillars of social security

THE Golden Jubilee budget presented yesterday by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is, more than anything else, another big step towards providing greater social empowerment, progressivity, protection and inclusiveness which have come to be the hallmarks of economic policy-making in recent years.

As Mr Tharman noted, Singapore has, over the last decade, come a long way in strengthening the "four pillars" of its social security system - home ownership, CPF, healthcare assurance and Workfare.

In this budget, he has made fortifications. First, he has added a "Silver Support Scheme" which will provide income support to the elderly to the tune of S$600 every quarter on average, per recipient. He has enhanced the CPF system, by increasing mandated contributions during working years, including for older workers. He has also raised interest rates for smaller CPF balances such that some 80 per cent of CPF members will earn at least 5 per cent on their retirement savings, which is remarkable at a time of near-zero interest rates for all major currencies - and the Singapore dollar. There are more subsidies for education as well, including pre-school.