One in five Singapore elderly feels he/she does not have sufficient income for living
August 23rd, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
According to a new Active Ageing Index constructed by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) under the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policies, one in five Singapore elderly feels he/she does not have sufficient income for living.
The same index also reveals that elderly in Singapore fall short in health and community engagement as well.
The result should not come as a surprise as the elderly, especially blue collar workers, have been hit particularly hard in recent years by stagnant or falling wages and rising cost of living, fueled by some ill-conceived PAP policies especially its pro-foreigner and ultra-liberal immigration policies.
A recent Wall Street Journal reported that the relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore has depressed the wages of ordinary Singapore workers, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
Singapore elderly workers are at a disadvantage as their employers’ CPF contributions are reduced to 10.5 percent when they reach 50 years of age. They also have to contend with hordes of cheap foreign workers who are willing to work longer hours for less pay.
In the past, Singaporeans can rely on their children to take care of them, but not now as the present generation is struggling to support their own families too.
Though Singapore has one of the highest GDP per capita income in the world, Singaporeans enjoy few social welfare benefits from the government.
One have to be proven to be permanently unfit to work and completely destitute before one can qualify for the government’s Public Assistance (PA) scheme which gives a monthly allowance of $330.
Otherwise, they will have to work for as long as their health permits till they drop dead and die.
The Minister in charge of aging policies Mr Lim Boon Heng claimed that a series of initiatives have been launched to “help” the elderly in Singapore, such as “getting companies to rehire the old and a $20 million fund to cultivate interest groups.”
Gripped with an increasingly uncertain future with no social safety net in place, the number of Singapore elderly who feels financially insecure is likely to increase in time to come.
August 23rd, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
According to a new Active Ageing Index constructed by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) under the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policies, one in five Singapore elderly feels he/she does not have sufficient income for living.
The same index also reveals that elderly in Singapore fall short in health and community engagement as well.
The result should not come as a surprise as the elderly, especially blue collar workers, have been hit particularly hard in recent years by stagnant or falling wages and rising cost of living, fueled by some ill-conceived PAP policies especially its pro-foreigner and ultra-liberal immigration policies.
A recent Wall Street Journal reported that the relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore has depressed the wages of ordinary Singapore workers, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
Singapore elderly workers are at a disadvantage as their employers’ CPF contributions are reduced to 10.5 percent when they reach 50 years of age. They also have to contend with hordes of cheap foreign workers who are willing to work longer hours for less pay.
In the past, Singaporeans can rely on their children to take care of them, but not now as the present generation is struggling to support their own families too.
Though Singapore has one of the highest GDP per capita income in the world, Singaporeans enjoy few social welfare benefits from the government.
One have to be proven to be permanently unfit to work and completely destitute before one can qualify for the government’s Public Assistance (PA) scheme which gives a monthly allowance of $330.
Otherwise, they will have to work for as long as their health permits till they drop dead and die.
The Minister in charge of aging policies Mr Lim Boon Heng claimed that a series of initiatives have been launched to “help” the elderly in Singapore, such as “getting companies to rehire the old and a $20 million fund to cultivate interest groups.”
Gripped with an increasingly uncertain future with no social safety net in place, the number of Singapore elderly who feels financially insecure is likely to increase in time to come.
