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Serious It's Nearly Official! Family Of Four Don't Earn $6693 Per Month In Singapore, They Gone Fuck For Sure!

JohnTan

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SINGAPORE –The issue of whether more can be done in Singapore to help lower-wage workers and their families was rekindled on Thursday.

A report by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) published on Thursday said that a family of four, consisting of parents, a pre-teen and a teenager, needs at least $6,693 a month to afford a basic standard of living.

The Minimum Income Standards (MIS) Report 2023 recommended setting a universal wage floor to help lower-wage workers and families cope with rising costs of living, and reforming the Central Provident Fund (CPF) and social support schemes to ensure that poorer retirees would not fall behind.

Shortly after the release of the report, the Government said that the report “is not just about basic needs like housing, food and clothing, but… (it) is what individuals would like to have”.

In a joint statement on Thursday night, the ministries of Finance, Manpower and Social and Family Development underlined the Government’s approach – that it is committed to supporting Singaporeans throughout their lives, especially those in need.

It invests in human capital, including through broad-based subsidies and transfers in education, healthcare and public housing that benefit most citizens, so that Singaporeans can get better jobs and higher incomes, the ministries said.

They noted that social spending almost doubled over the past decade, from $18 billion in financial year 2011 to $34 billion in FY2021.

Support is tilted towards those in greater need, with help schemes targeted at those from lower-income backgrounds or who are unable to work, they said.

For instance, in 2022, resident households in one- and two-room Housing Board flats received more than $12,000 per household member on average from government schemes.

“The Government regularly reviews our scope and coverage of assistance to ensure it is relevant and adequate,” the ministries said.

Living wage to support a basic standard of living
In an earlier study in 2021, the same researchers calculated that a family of four would need $6,426 a month for a basic standard of living, while a single parent with a toddler would need $3,218 a month.

After adjusting for inflation, the figures have now risen to $6,693 and $3,369, respectively.


These figures are the “living wages” required for basic needs, yet around 30 per cent of working households in Singapore earn less than these thresholds, the latest report said.

Dr Ng Kok Hoe of LKYSPP said at the report’s public launch at the school in Bukit Timah that the research team used public data sources such as the 2022 consumer price index (CPI) to update the prices of individual items in the household budgets, from which the living wage amounts were derived.

NTU Associate Professor Teo You Yenn said that focus groups held for about 300 participants in the earlier study agreed that basic needs, as covered in the household budgets that were developed, go beyond mere survival. She said: “They encompass needs for belonging, respect, independence, security and social participation.”

In their joint response, the ministries said the report’s findings and recommendations should be interpreted as an expression of what individuals would like to have, and not their basic needs.

“As a society, we will need to have conversations around how we can collectively reach this goal,” the ministries said, noting that self-help, community support and government aid all play a part.

The idea of a universal wage floor is “not necessarily the best way” to achieve a decent wage, the ministries noted.

“Set too low, the wage floor will benefit fewer workers than the Progressive Wage Model (PWM). Set too high, workers who are less skilled risk losing their jobs, especially if their jobs can be automated,” they said.

The PWM is a wage ladder introduced in 2014. It pegs wage rises to skill upgrading and productivity increases.

Most recently, it was expanded to include sectors such as retail, food services and waste management, and occupations like those of administrators and drivers.

The ministries said the PWM and other measures under the wider progressive wage umbrella now cover up to nine in 10 lower-wage workers, and will continue to expand to cover more workers.

The wages required under the PWM will also increase significantly, they said. For example, wages for retail workers under the model will increase by more than 8 per cent a year from 2023 to 2025, while wages for most cleaners will increase by more than 10 per cent a year from 2023 to 2028.

Retirement adequacy
On retirement adequacy, the report said Singapore’s pension system consists mainly of mandatory individual savings in CPF, with “limited state-funded social assistance”.

The report found that the monthly payout received by a single senior aged above 65 from his CPF Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) amounts to only 55 per cent of what he needs for a basic standard of living.

Additionally, only 65 per cent of the active CPF members who turned 55 in 2021 had either saved enough for the BRS and owned a property, or had saved the Full Retirement Sum, the report noted.

Social assistance schemes like ComCare Long-Term Assistance and the Silver Support Scheme are the main channels of financial assistance for retirees with low incomes.

However, ComCare Long-Term Assistance amounts to just 43 per cent of what a retired senior needs, while Silver Support reaches more recipients but meets just 10 per cent to 20 per cent of their needs, the report said.

“Mandatory savings are not an adequate preparation for retirement when the wages from which the savings are drawn are insufficient to begin with,” it added.

In response, the ministries said that the Government is already reviewing how retirement adequacy can be strengthened, and that those who work and contribute consistently to their CPF accounts will be able to meet their basic retirement needs.

“We recognise that there are groups who are unable to benefit fully from the system, including those unable to work and/or accumulate sufficient CPF savings,” they said. Such groups include lower-income workers and caregivers.

The ministries noted that support for these groups is being strengthened, such as through the recently announced Majulah Package for those aged 50 and above, and upcoming enhancements to measures such as the Silver Support Scheme and Workfare Income Supplement.

Reviewing and updating policies
The report said that a number of schemes, such as subsidies for infant care, childcare and student care, as well as the Silver Support Scheme, were not updated between 2020 and 2022 despite high inflation.

It added: “Pegging the amounts of assistance to current price levels – known as indexing – should be introduced to ensure policies are more responsive to reality and do not fall behind at precisely those times when they are most needed.”

The ministries said the scope, coverage and payout amounts of government schemes are regularly reviewed to ensure those schemes remain relevant and adequate.

For instance, the ministries said, the ComCare payout amount was raised in 2022, while its per capita household income benchmark was raised in July 2023.

The regular reviews go beyond updates to scheme parameters, they said. “We also review longer-term trends and introduce new policies or schemes to address emerging or new challenges.”

They cited the example of aligning CPF contributions by platform workers and platform companies with those of employees and employers, respectively, to help platform workers meet their retirement and housing needs.

“From time to time, we have introduced one-off measures to deal with specific issues or as part of bonus sharing with Singaporeans. These do not replace permanent elements of our social safety nets,” the ministries said.

The researchers touched on the impact of the one-off measures in Budget 2023, such as the Assurance Package and Community Development Council vouchers, but added the caveat that the full-year 2023 CPI is not yet available to adjust for prevailing goods prices.

By their calculations, these measures would cover 2.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent of the basic needs of a family of four, and 8.3 per cent to 12.7 per cent of the basic needs of a single senior above 65.

The ministries also said they welcome studies that provide additional insights into public discussion on social policies.

“The report offers an additional data point on the expectations and aspirations of Singaporeans, which will continue to evolve over time,” they said.

Research overstates basic needs, understates govt support: Ministries
The ministries took issue with the data and methodology used in the report, which outlines wage levels required to meet the basic needs of various types of households.

Like the earlier 2021 report, it runs the risk of overstating the minimum income for basic needs while understating the amount of government support received by lower-income families, the ministries said.

“The MIS approach used is highly dependent on respondent profiles and on group dynamics. As the focus groups included higher-income participants, the conclusions may not be an accurate reflection of basic needs,” they said.

For example, the ministries said, some expenses taken into account when calculating MIS included discretionary expenses such as jewellery, perfumes and overseas holidays.

They said: “Our own analysis suggests that the proposed monthly MIS budget of around $1,680 per capita is similar to the average monthly expenditure of $1,650 per capita for all families with children, rather than reflecting a more basic set of needs.”

Responding to questions from the audience on basic needs items at the report’s launch, Dr Ng of LKYSPP said the researchers’ approach ensured that no single individual gets to define basic needs or discretionary spending.

Participants collectively decided on what counted as basic needs items. Full agreement was needed to add or strike off items on the list, Dr Ng said.


https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...in-singapore-draws-response-from-3-ministries
 
I suspect that researcher has mental wellness issue and must be living in Slumpshun De woh....

SG so huat la huat la... Even gRab can tan 8k per mth De
 

Over S$6,600 per month required for basic living for household of 4: MIS report​

The Minimum Income Standard 2023 report was done by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).​


Timothy Kang
Timothy Kang
·Finance Producer
Updated Fri, 15 September 2023 at 11:45 am GMT+1


An Asian family of four looking at a smartphone, illustrating a story on minimum income to fulfil basic needs.

A report authored by researchers from two local universities said that a household of four comprising two parents and two children below 19 would need at least S$6,693 per month to afford a basic standard of living in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty)
SINGAPORE — A household comprising a couple with two children – aged seven to 12, and 13 to 18 – would require at least S$6,693 to afford a basic standard of living in Singapore.
This was one of several key findings in the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) 2023 report, which was published on Thursday (14 September) by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).
Researchers in the report employed the MIS method – a process that relied mainly on consensus-based focus group discussions to produce data – to come up with an inflation-adjusted (2020 – 2022) monthly MIS budget for three indicative Singaporean household types.
The report stated that households with a single parent with one child aged between two and six would require at least S$3,369 per month, while households with a single elderly person aged 65 years and older would require at least S$1,492 per month.

Some 30% of working households cannot meet basic needs​

When compared to the actual income per household member, the MIS budgets were close to the average of the third decile group. This meant that around 30 per cent of all working households in Singapore earn less than the amount required to meet their basic needs, according to the report.
Furthermore, the report said that while income gains helped to narrow the distance with MIS budgets for some groups of workers between 2020 and 2022, the gains were "insufficient to alter the overall picture of wage distribution and adequacy".
"Workers in the best-paid occupations, hired on fixed-term or permanent contracts, or with diploma or higher qualifications still comfortably exceed the MIS budgets. In contrast, workers in traditionally low-wage jobs, hired on a casual basis, or with less than secondary education remain a long way short of earning enough to meet a basic standard of living," the report said.
The report also argued that the existing wage intervention mechanisms, namely the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), were only adequate for smaller households like a single elderly person.
The researchers concluded that parents in low-wage jobs covered by the current PWM wage guidelines will not earn enough, even after including the WIS top-ups, to meet their basic household needs, and added that the wage situation is even "more concerning" for low-wage workers in sectors left out of the PWM. It recommended setting a universal wage floor that allows a "decent standard of living" for low-wage workers and families to cope with rising costs of living.

Public schemes and basic standard of living​

Another area that the researchers looked at was whether public schemes helped households achieve a basic standard of living. The report analysed public schemes relative to basic income needs and argued that there were shortfalls in schemes such as subsidies for children, cash vouchers, as well as the Central Provident Fund's (CPF) retirement income scheme.
The report argued that while there was a wide variety of schemes covering almost all Singaporean adults and households, the total amounts provided over the course of the year made up only a small percentage of the costs of basic needs required by single-parent and partnered-parent households.
"Clearly, they will not significantly alter the outlook for income security," said the report.
The report concluded with policy recommendations to reform the CPF and social support schemes to ensure that poorer retirees do not fall behind. It added that the range of public schemes should be more transparent and that cash assistance amounts should be pegged to more realistic benchmarks in order for the policies to be more effective.

Government's response​

On Thursday evening, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) issued a joint statement in response to the MIS report's publication.
The ministries pointed out that the MIS report is based on methodology developed in the UK and replicated in places such as France, Ireland, and Japan and that the authors used publicly available data and "certain simplifying assumptions to derive their findings".
Noting that they had previously highlighted the limitations of the report's approach, the ministries said that the conclusions in the report "may not be an accurate reflection of basic needs" due to its "high dependence on respondent profiles and on group dynamics".
Researchers of the MIS report stated that its methodology relied mainly on focus group discussions to produce data reflecting the "lived realities and ordinary habits of people living in contemporary Singapore", "embody the values and principles that ordinary Singaporeans identify with and capture "concrete items and precise budgets that map onto values and principles".
"Our own analysis suggests that the proposed monthly MIS budget of around S$1,680 per capita is similar to the average monthly expenditure of S$1,650 per capita for all families with children rather than reflecting a more basic set of needs," the ministries said.
On the policy recommendations on wages, the government said that it supports "the intent of ensuring that our lower-wage workers have jobs that pay them a decent wage" while countering that a universal wage floor is "not necessarily the best way to achieve this".
"Set too low, the wage floor will benefit fewer workers than the PWM. Set too high, workers who are less skilled risk losing their jobs, especially if their jobs can be automated," they said.
The ministries also acknowledged that they were reviewing how retirement adequacy could be strengthened for those who were unable to work or accumulate sufficient CPF savings.
"We have been strengthening support for such members through other means such as the Majulah Package for seniors aged 50 and above and upcoming enhancements to Silver Support and Workfare," said the ministries.
 

Over S$6,600 per month required for basic living for household of 4: MIS report​

The Minimum Income Standard 2023 report was done by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).​


Timothy Kang
Timothy Kang
·Finance Producer
Updated Fri, 15 September 2023 at 11:45 am GMT+1


An Asian family of four looking at a smartphone, illustrating a story on minimum income to fulfil basic needs.

A report authored by researchers from two local universities said that a household of four comprising two parents and two children below 19 would need at least S$6,693 per month to afford a basic standard of living in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty)
SINGAPORE — A household comprising a couple with two children – aged seven to 12, and 13 to 18 – would require at least S$6,693 to afford a basic standard of living in Singapore.
This was one of several key findings in the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) 2023 report, which was published on Thursday (14 September) by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).
Researchers in the report employed the MIS method – a process that relied mainly on consensus-based focus group discussions to produce data – to come up with an inflation-adjusted (2020 – 2022) monthly MIS budget for three indicative Singaporean household types.
The report stated that households with a single parent with one child aged between two and six would require at least S$3,369 per month, while households with a single elderly person aged 65 years and older would require at least S$1,492 per month.

Some 30% of working households cannot meet basic needs​

When compared to the actual income per household member, the MIS budgets were close to the average of the third decile group. This meant that around 30 per cent of all working households in Singapore earn less than the amount required to meet their basic needs, according to the report.
Furthermore, the report said that while income gains helped to narrow the distance with MIS budgets for some groups of workers between 2020 and 2022, the gains were "insufficient to alter the overall picture of wage distribution and adequacy".
"Workers in the best-paid occupations, hired on fixed-term or permanent contracts, or with diploma or higher qualifications still comfortably exceed the MIS budgets. In contrast, workers in traditionally low-wage jobs, hired on a casual basis, or with less than secondary education remain a long way short of earning enough to meet a basic standard of living," the report said.
The report also argued that the existing wage intervention mechanisms, namely the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), were only adequate for smaller households like a single elderly person.
The researchers concluded that parents in low-wage jobs covered by the current PWM wage guidelines will not earn enough, even after including the WIS top-ups, to meet their basic household needs, and added that the wage situation is even "more concerning" for low-wage workers in sectors left out of the PWM. It recommended setting a universal wage floor that allows a "decent standard of living" for low-wage workers and families to cope with rising costs of living.

Public schemes and basic standard of living​

Another area that the researchers looked at was whether public schemes helped households achieve a basic standard of living. The report analysed public schemes relative to basic income needs and argued that there were shortfalls in schemes such as subsidies for children, cash vouchers, as well as the Central Provident Fund's (CPF) retirement income scheme.
The report argued that while there was a wide variety of schemes covering almost all Singaporean adults and households, the total amounts provided over the course of the year made up only a small percentage of the costs of basic needs required by single-parent and partnered-parent households.
"Clearly, they will not significantly alter the outlook for income security," said the report.
The report concluded with policy recommendations to reform the CPF and social support schemes to ensure that poorer retirees do not fall behind. It added that the range of public schemes should be more transparent and that cash assistance amounts should be pegged to more realistic benchmarks in order for the policies to be more effective.

Government's response​

On Thursday evening, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) issued a joint statement in response to the MIS report's publication.
The ministries pointed out that the MIS report is based on methodology developed in the UK and replicated in places such as France, Ireland, and Japan and that the authors used publicly available data and "certain simplifying assumptions to derive their findings".
Noting that they had previously highlighted the limitations of the report's approach, the ministries said that the conclusions in the report "may not be an accurate reflection of basic needs" due to its "high dependence on respondent profiles and on group dynamics".
Researchers of the MIS report stated that its methodology relied mainly on focus group discussions to produce data reflecting the "lived realities and ordinary habits of people living in contemporary Singapore", "embody the values and principles that ordinary Singaporeans identify with and capture "concrete items and precise budgets that map onto values and principles".
"Our own analysis suggests that the proposed monthly MIS budget of around S$1,680 per capita is similar to the average monthly expenditure of S$1,650 per capita for all families with children rather than reflecting a more basic set of needs," the ministries said.
On the policy recommendations on wages, the government said that it supports "the intent of ensuring that our lower-wage workers have jobs that pay them a decent wage" while countering that a universal wage floor is "not necessarily the best way to achieve this".
"Set too low, the wage floor will benefit fewer workers than the PWM. Set too high, workers who are less skilled risk losing their jobs, especially if their jobs can be automated," they said.
The ministries also acknowledged that they were reviewing how retirement adequacy could be strengthened for those who were unable to work or accumulate sufficient CPF savings.
"We have been strengthening support for such members through other means such as the Majulah Package for seniors aged 50 and above and upcoming enhancements to Silver Support and Workfare," said the ministries.
that's just great. family of four needs $6700 to survive. Not that long ago, families could live well on $6700.

Love seeing all this wealth trickling down... or in this case, wealth buying everything up and inflating things beyond normal families' ability to pay. fucked up short sighted policy.

mark my words. this policy of pursuing the rich from around the world to Singapore is great for impressing everyone with GDP numbers and shit. But the reality is that it makes regular industries unsustainably uncompetitive. The only thing left will be financial services for these rich people and retail and hospitality services to suit. Otherwise, just about everything else can close shop or go into survival mode. Even high value added industries life software and digital have to FO. Look at Lucasfilm for eg. You can forget manufacturing ever coming back to prop up the economy.
 
-No minimium wage
-Bring in foreigners who are willing to accept lower wages, hence locals need to accept lower wages to compete
-Increased cost of living

It's the perfect storm. Yet sinkies still love the pap!
 
Lol,many pap voters still.feel they are ok,lan jiao,theirs masters are having meats n throw bones ro them,lol,Don forget abt ridout rd,the, feel they deserve it,lol
 
If not for the HDB flat which most sinkees are happily living in, there would be riot. No one in sinkapore is complaining that they cannot afford to rent or buy a HDB flat.
PAP is the best.
 
It's no wonder our TFR is abysmally low.

LHL's greatest contribution to Singapore is the depopulation and dilution of the native core.

History will remember how he and his 2nd wife fucked things up for the country.
Yes, how he fuck up Singapore with their vision and planning.
 
just $3k per month for a guy who live a women-free life is suffice already. able to even go for short tour. content, humble living, eat organic food daily. $5k is the best for this but hey, take it easy.
 
$6500/4= $1650 per household capita
This is expected don't need expert from lkyspp to say.
Someone who earns 6.6k with 4 mouth to feed is poorer than someone who earn 3k and lead a women-free life.
 
In this Information age, we supposed to work less for more money, but why are we in the opposite just like the Industrial ages?
 
That is because govt has suck so much money into the reserves. They say in order to preserve the independence of Singapore. All Singkie has to sacrifice part of their income via cpf and high taxes to maintain independence.

But that has inevitably created problem down the line. Cost of living is almost unbearable and part of the problem is the land costing.

PAP say that large reserve is needed so that our reserve cannot be attacked and no one should know what much we have . But that has created another set of problems. The large reserve needed to be invested and need to make healthy returns. But our investments genius is such a novice in investing and made a fool out of it. Never mind the large amount of money we lost and every year we have large surplus from our country's budget to be send into the the hands of GIC. Also large reserve also created high cost of living cos all the money collection is via high taxes. All these goes into official reserve if there's is budget surpluses.
 
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