Average Hourly Earnings of Self-employed Persons as Criterion for Application of Financial Assistance and Social Support

72 Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider accepting the use of average hourly earnings of self-employed persons to derive the equivalent household income for application of financial assistance and social support to take into account that they may have lower average hourly earnings as compared to others who work the standard work hours per month.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The assessment for ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance (SMTA) is based on the applicant’s total earnings for the month, other sources of income and savings. This is compared against what is sufficient to cover their basic daily living expenses. For two households with the same monthly expenditure for basic needs, the household with lower monthly income will get more cash assistance. This is regardless of whether household members are employed or self-employed, and also regardless of the number of hours worked.