Budget 2014: MPs question impact of older workers" CPF rate on jobs, housing

SINGAPORE – Workers’ Party MP Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) worries that higher CPF rates for older workers may cost them their jobs but People’s Action Party MP David Ong (Jurong GRC) wants rates to rise even more, to ensure seniors have enough for housing and retirement.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Read Mr Singh’s full speech on the second day of debate on Budget 2014:

Changing our social norms, the CPF rate rise and emissions

In the Workers’ Party 2011 National Day message titled, Honouring our First Generation, the party paid a special tribute to our pioneer generation, the first generation of Singaporeans who built Singapore during the early decades of independence, our parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, the elderly cleaners, the retired civil servants and teachers and the first National Servicemen. This special group embodied the Singapore spirit – the determination to work hard and to overcome odds to carve out a better life for all Singaporeans today. Indeed they are a shining example for generations of Singaporeans to come.

In 1960, my father boarded the S.S. Rajula in India, a British-India Steam Navigation Company passenger and cargo steamship liner for Singapore, to join my grandfather who worked in the old Outram Prison. Coincidentally, the S.S. Rajula was the same ship that ferried troops from India to Singapore before the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941.

This migrant story is not an uncommon one amongst many Singaporeans, particularly Indians who came to Singapore and Malaysia after World War 2. Although my grandfather and many pioneers have already passed away, the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) is a welcome recognition of the efforts and struggles of his peers who are still alive today, and who embody the Singapore spirit—the determination to work hard, to overcome the odds and carve out a better life for their children. The emphasis of the package in the area of healthcare will give our pioneers some peace of mind even as the Government should be remain mindful of pioneers who may not be able to afford co-payments because of their chronic conditions and the high cost of medication.

I will speak on three issues that were covered in the Budget – transforming the economy through changing our social norms, the CPF rate increase and the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) scheme.

Budget 2014: MPs question impact of older workers" CPF rate on jobs, housing