More "Bright Ideas" Coming....
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HOT TALK: CPF CONTRIBUTIONS
After CPF deduction, So little money to live on
By Low Ching Ling
February 14, 2007
MR Heng Tong Lip's heart breaks each time his 11-year-old son asks him to buy an expensive toy.
'My members would also like a 3 to 7 per cent increase in their salaries as an additional way to offset the GST hike.' - Mr Muthu Kumar, general secretary, Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers
Most times, he has to disappoint the boy because he just can't afford toys.
Mr Heng, 54, earns $1,000 a month as a lorry driver, working 14 hours a day, six days a week.
After CPF deduction, he takes home about $850, a tight budget to live on.
Mr Heng, whose wife died of cervical cancer in 2002, lives in a three-room flat in Bedok with his autistic son, Yong Huat.
About $400 to $500 goes for food, while another $200 is for utilities and service and conservancy charges.
Once every two months, Mr Heng has to pay more than $100 for medicine for his arthritis.
'If I don't take the medicine, I won't be able to work,' he told The New Paper. 'I hope I'll never have any major illness because I can't afford treatment.'
Whatever is left of his pay is spent on transport and on his son's school expenses.
Most months, Mr Heng said, he's not able to save anything.
Which is why he hopes the Government will take up the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) suggestion to cut low-income earners' CPF contribution when the Budget is announced on Thursday.
Currently, workers below age 50 contribute 20 per cent. Those earning between $500 and $750 a month pay between 5 and 20 per cent. The rate is lower for workers aged 50 and above.
'Now, those who earn less than $500 don't have to contribute to CPF. I hope this ceiling can be pushed to $1,000, so that more low-income earners can have higher take-home pay.' - Mr Lau Lye Hock, president, National Transport Workers' Union
Mr Heng, who is currently saving $150 with the CPF, said: 'For low-income earners like me, higher take-home pay is a bonus. Perhaps then, I'll be able to save a bit more every month or spend a little more on my son.
'And with the upcoming GST (goods and services tax) hike, having more cash in my hands will become an even more urgent need.'
NTUC has proposed that with lower employees' CPF contribution for low-wage earners, their CPF accounts can be topped up with Workfare Bonus.
Workfare was introduced last May to reward older and low-wage workers earning below $1,500 for staying employed. And to coax businesses to employ these workers, NTUC also wants employers to pay them less CPF.
Again, Workfare Bonus can make up for the shortfall.
Former labour chief Lim Boon Heng has also suggested that the income ceiling be raised from $750 to $1,000.
This would exempt those earning below $1,000 from paying the full CPF rate, freeing up more cash.
But the labour movement has not forgotten about the middle- and high-income earners. It wants employers' CPF contributions to be raised by 1 to 2 per cent for workers below 50.
Employers now pay 13 per cent of monthly wages into CPF. This rate was cut from 16 per cent in 2003.
The CPF system was also changed to become more flexible, where the total contributions for workers below 50 can be tweaked to fall in the range of 30 to 36 per cent, depending on economic conditions.
'Employers have to take into consideration that workers made a lot of sacrifices (when the employer's CPF contribution was cut from 16 to 13 per cent in 2003) when the economy wasn't doing so well. Now that the economy is bolstering up and business is doing well, it's the employers' turn...to restor partial or full CPF contribution.' - Mr Terry Lee, president, Singapore Insurance Employees' Union
But now that the economy has bounced back, NTUC wants the employers' CPF contribution to be restored.
The economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 7.7 per cent last year. A record 173,300 jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell to 2.7 per cent, from 3.1 per cent in 2005.
NTUC's proposal is music to Mr Jeff Tay's ears. The 25-year-old operations executive recently bought a $400,000 condominium unit with his girlfriend.
The couple, who have a combined income of about $6,000, will pay off their housing loan of $320,000 partly through their CPF savings and partly through cash instalments.
Mr Tay said: 'If the employers' CPF contribution goes up, then we can use less cash. Even if we don't use more of our CPF savings to pay for the house, it would still mean we have more money in our CPF accounts.'
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his New Year message that a CPF restoration would 'complement Workfare, which covers the lower-income groups'.
He added: 'Then all Singaporeans will be able to save more for their housing, retirement and healthcare needs. Our economy is doing well. The labour market is tight and wages are rising. A CPF increase makes sense.'
'The Government has been focusing a lot on the low-income group, but they also need to address the concerns of the sandwiched (middle-income) class.' - Mr Michael Lim, president, Singapore Bank Employees' Union
But employers, in particular small and medium enterprises, have raised concerns about a CPF restoration. They say it will add to their costs.
If the proposed CPF hike goes through, employers may deduct the increase from increments and bonuses.
They may also turn to hiring more foreigners as a high employers' CPF contribution rate may make Singaporeans and permanent residents more expensive to hire.
But Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said that businesses can expect lower corporate taxes to keep them competitive and to offset the increase in GST and employers' CPF contribution.
NTUC also wants to get on board workers' who are not in the CPF system, who are mainly low-wage contract workers and those from the informal jobs sector such as odd-job labourers and hawker assistants.
Currently, those who earn less than $500 a month need not pay CPF. -
Nice to see the GST increase helping the lower income...
Up to now I still laugh at the government's pathetic reason for increasing the GST... simply pathetic. -
No wonder people left for other countries.Originally posted by bigmouthjoe:Nice to see the GST increase helping the lower income...
Up to now I still laugh at the government's pathetic reason for increasing the GST... simply pathetic.
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actually i dont get it how by increasing GST can help the lower income ?Originally posted by bigmouthjoe:Nice to see the GST increase helping the lower income...
Up to now I still laugh at the government's pathetic reason for increasing the GST... simply pathetic. -
This increases their revenues. By increasing their revenues, they can give out goodies to the poor, thereby helping them.Originally posted by valentinoo:actually i dont get it how by increasing GST can help the lower income ?
A warped logic.
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By forcing them onto MRT tracks... that's how the government helps.Originally posted by valentinoo:actually i dont get it how by increasing GST can help the lower income ?
Somehow the MIW has a twisted sense of humour that only those in their inner circle can understand and appreciate. The rest of us can only look on with horror...
Their theory of increased budget to help the poor is theoractically doable, but practically, to get through the eligibility screening would probably require you to produce documents after documents and still subjected to approval... god knows when the help actually reaches you. Maybe they think that everyone has a private lawyer... -
this govt is afraid of helping.....they want you to co-pay on everything.....take the baby bonus, i know of folks who have difficulty with the $6k to co-pay, the rich can easily dump $6k in and next month the govt will match it...but isn't this type of thing suppose to help the less able too? i guess not.....then you get the progress package where lines of old folks have to be inconvenienced just to get the money....they should not be made to look like beggars.....and now with the increased gst...it's ironic, they insist you suffer with the high cost first before thye throw some money into your face then they claim creadit by reporting how much the govt have distributed...lol.....really bad karma happening.....
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They are one big friggin big IRONY!Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:This increases their revenues. By increasing their revenues, they can give out goodies to the poor, thereby helping them.
A warped logic.
From a gov that proclaims "No Free Lunches" how long can they keep giving out 'goodies'???
I'd rather they PERMANENTLY reduce certain costs of living instead of all these friggin one-off hand outs!
WTF .... -
See what the 2nd Minister of Finance had to say on budget day.Originally posted by ShutterBug:They are one big friggin big IRONY!
From a gov that proclaims "No Free Lunches" how long can they keep giving out 'goodies'???
I'd rather they PERMANENTLY reduce certain costs of living instead of all these friggin one-off hand outs!
WTF .... -
Aiyaa....Originally posted by will4:See what the 2nd Minister of Finance had to say on budget day.
if the 2nd Minister of Fin is announcing the Budget, you all can expect nothing rosey....
And if they give out something substantial... you can expect to pay back a pound of flesh later in the year....
SSDY....! -
LHL can just say he want to waste more money on bad investments or increase his salary to make sure no world leader will ever exceed him in the next 50 years, so he need to increase COE, ERP, transport, electric, and increase TP fining Quota, 10% GST and whatever.
But he's just trying to sound nice and win some misled poor people's heart by saying what people "WANT" to hear.
Even if GST is 20% or Ciggies are $50, or ERP collects $10 per entry and etc. What can we do? We all only can suck thumb. There is no real opposition and no representation of the people. -
You're right. That's absolutely the exact horrid truth...Originally posted by mistyblue:LHL can just say he want to waste more money on bad investments or increase his salary to make sure no world leader will ever exceed him in the next 50 years, so he need to increase COE, ERP, transport, electric, and increase TP fining Quota, 10% GST and whatever.
But he's just trying to sound nice and win some misled poor people's heart by saying what people "WANT" to hear.
Even if GST is 20% or Ciggies are $50, or ERP collects $10 per entry and etc. What can we do? We all only can suck thumb. There is no real opposition and no representation of the people.
But what they hey, I see a storm-front coming, and I'm high-tailing outta here...
I may be a Quitter... but I am quitting being a fool staying on... -
No one's a Stayer or Quitter. Those are useless terms dreamt up by our SM.
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I wonder if the govt is truly worried about the rate of migration by Sporean to other countries?Originally posted by LazerLordz:No one's a Stayer or Quitter. Those are useless terms dreamt up by our SM. -
Based on their ego so far, they wouldn't show it even if they are...Originally posted by will4:I wonder if the govt is truly worried about the rate of migration by Sporean to other countries?
Besides, they are TOTALLY banking on FOREIGNERS.
I say good luck to them... -
Sillyporeans whom migrated to oversea are quitters - a term used by the gahemn.
I thought i recalled when SM Goh once mentioned they wanted to setup a network where the quitters overseas can still keep in touch with the happenings in sinkapore? they wanted the quitters not to forget their roots..etc..etc..blah..blah..? since they are labeled quitters, y would the gahmen try to go all out and maintain a network so that they can still be kept in touch?
scared kana bad mouthed oversea or wat?? -
More like the Govt with a God complex realised that all that bluster was worthless and people will quit anyhow.Originally posted by 4getmenot:Sillyporeans whom migrated to oversea are quitters - a term used by the gahemn.
I thought i recalled when SM Goh once mentioned they wanted to setup a network where the quitters overseas can still keep in touch with the happenings in sinkapore? they wanted the quitters not to forget their roots..etc..etc..blah..blah..? since they are labeled quitters, y would the gahmen try to go all out and maintain a network so that they can still be kept in touch?
scared kana bad mouthed oversea or wat??
It is probably some half heart affair. The GOvt has had these little things for years now and frankly they come and go at the whim. -
I was wondering. Normally to obtain PR in countries, you need to be either rich or talented. Out of those 800 who actually managed to escape, I would like to think that they fall under the category of Rich or Talented because in Singapore I don't think we have much political exiles...Originally posted by 4getmenot:Sillyporeans whom migrated to oversea are quitters - a term used by the gahemn.
I thought i recalled when SM Goh once mentioned they wanted to setup a network where the quitters overseas can still keep in touch with the happenings in sinkapore? they wanted the quitters not to forget their roots..etc..etc..blah..blah..? since they are labeled quitters, y would the gahmen try to go all out and maintain a network so that they can still be kept in touch?
scared kana bad mouthed oversea or wat??
The government is in a precarious position whereby it's policies are still seeing the rich leaving for greener pastures and the poor wishing they could leave...
One interesting thing to note is that those that have left Singapore do discourage FTs (from their new home) from taking up PRs in Singapore...
Why must make them suffer? Wait I suffer from bad karma... -
Thinking about this useless Goh wat he had done 4 these past 10 yrs,may be talking c n singing song nothing much?????
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Some of the locals also advised their PR fren not take up Spore citizenship.Originally posted by bigmouthjoe:I was wondering. Normally to obtain PR in countries, you need to be either rich or talented. Out of those 800 who actually managed to escape, I would like to think that they fall under the category of Rich or Talented because in Singapore I don't think we have much political exiles...
The government is in a precarious position whereby it's policies are still seeing the rich leaving for greener pastures and the poor wishing they could leave...
One interesting thing to note is that those that have left Singapore do discourage FTs (from their new home) from taking up PRs in Singapore... Why must make them suffer? Wait I suffer from bad karma... -
Pls dont!!! let them sucking dried!!!!Originally posted by will4:Some of the locals also advised their PR fren not take up Spore citizenship.