Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Take care of the elderly

Dear Mr Tan
Perhaps there is space in your blog to help display my recent contribution to the Yahoo forum.
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International Longevity Centre survey (ST Aug 14) confirms older folks aged 60 do not have sufficient CPF upon retirement (only 5% male can rely on his CPF, 1% female can rely on her CPF). 
Feedback in past years to high ranking ministers concerning the plights of our retirees struggling with the measly CPF retirement payout all fallen on deaf ears. 

Our retirees love Sg, each having toiled 40-50 years continuously helped to transform Sg from 3rd world to 1st world country. Our retirees personify the true Spirit of Singapore: they are brave people, having toiled so

hard to raise the younger generation who now continues to contribute to our Nation's growth.

Our Govt told the world, that in wealthy Singapore, there is no lack of money for worthy cause. We allocated multi-billion dollars for estates renewal, multi-$billions to help neighbouring states, multi-$millions for mega showcase events, multi-$billions to help the lower-income with wage supplements, to own their flats, multi-$millions to help the bottom rung 10% elderly sick. Our accumulated wealth is largely the contribution from the toil and hard work of our 80% healthier elderly folks.


Certainly, it is NOT a welfare handout to help this cohort who live in fear of financial insecurity, social oblivion long being forgotten. A tiny token of state monthly-supplement can sooth the souls.


Many of our top earner elites are enjoying comfortable Govt life pension. Our elderly folks rightly deserve a fair share of our Nation's wealth redistribution. We can consider setting up a Hard-work-Ethos Endowment Trust (in order to help overcome the unfounded and fixated paranoid about exhausting our reserves).


For past 4-5 decades of hardwork, the retiree rightly deserve a token monthly-supplement to enable her/him cope with stress and anxiety so as to lead a dignified life during her/his last 5-15 remaining years continuing with their "I love Sg" spirit (a national unifying force).


This culture of caring, will also spur younger Singaporeans to return from abroad to contribute to our economy with lesser worry for their own old age needs.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

True! some retirees who have no choice but to work out of necessity
with old limbs and hands, struggling to make ends meet?and the workfare bonus? when all honour and respect should to be accorded to them? In Rememberance of the Samsui Women?...............
sounds like 4 legs good 2 legs bad>

Sureesh said...

I think the real problem is that we are forced to save our money in CPF that pays interest rates of only 2.5% when inflation is around 5%. In other words our retirement fund is being eroded. CPF is something we have to contribute to from the start of our working life to retirement. So our life long savings are being eroded as time passes. The second problem is that people cannot get adequate returns using their CPF. The investment performance is rather poor. This is largely due to the fact that people receive very poor investment advice mainly from insurance agents. Instead of getting a good return on their CPF investment, they suffer losses.

Anonymous said...

It is true that CPF is giving low return but risk free. To get higher you may have to invest yourself or with the help of an investment adviser.But many got worse return by employing insurance agents as their adviser who is nothing more than a salesman out to make a commission from you.
It would be good that CPF revives the Private Pension Find(PPF)to invest our money into riskier assets for higher return like Temasek and GIC.Members can decide to participate with their SA money whcih is not used for other purposes except for retirement.

Sureesh said...

In that case the government should have anticipated these problems of low returns and regulate financial advisers that can advice people on the use of their CPF funds. Another alternative is for the government to give an interest rate equal to the inflation rate. Since CPF is for use to pay mortage, then it is only fair that CPF interest rate should be equal to housing inflation rate.

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