Factors for Continuation of Government's Cost-of-living Support

15 Mr Shawn Loh asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in relation to the Government’s statement in May 2025 that the Government will provide cost-of-living support for as long as it is needed, what are the factors that determine whether such Government support should continue, given that inflation has moderated, but cost of living anxieties remain elevated.

The Second Minister for Finance (Ms Indranee Rajah) (for the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): Mr Speaker, we take a holistic approach to determine Government support for cost of living, taking into consideration factors, such as inflation, economic and labour market conditions, fiscal sustainability as well as the affordability challenges faced by lower- and middle-income households. We recognise that whilst inflation has moderated, Singaporeans are still adjusting to higher price levels.

And that is why we provided additional support for Singaporeans in Budget 2025, including Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers and additional U-Save rebates. Beyond transitional cost-of-living support, we have also strengthened structural social support in housing, healthcare, education and retirement to provide Singaporeans with assurance at every stage of life. We will continue to monitor economic conditions closely and adjust cost-of-living support as necessary. In the longer term, the best way to help Singaporeans is to have broad-based and inclusive real wage growth.

Mr Speaker: Mr Shawn Loh.

Mr Shawn Loh (Jalan Besar): Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister for the explanation. As recently as earlier this week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released data that showed that inflation was indeed cooling. But the cost-of-living anxieties have far from abated. We hear this in the voices of our residents. In particular, there are two groups that we hear it quite loudly from: seniors who have retired many years ago as well as households with lower incomes.

To that end, I have three supplementary questions. The first, does the Ministry of Finance (MOF) look beyond hard data into sentiments and anxieties of the population when it comes to cost of living? The second, beyond the aggregate-level data, does MOF or does the Government look at specific target groups that are more vulnerable? And my third, if the answers to the first two questions are yes, would the Government then consider additional forms of support in the coming year, even when inflation cools? For example, building on the success of the SG60 vouchers, would we consider distributing vouchers to a more targeted subset, specifically, the Pioneer Generation as well as blue Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) cardholders, as an example?

Ms Indranee Rajah: Sir, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions.

Essentially, what we do is we look at the circumstances, we look at the different groups, we also look at specific target groups, if needed. So, the first question was whether MOF looks beyond hard data into sentiments and anxiety. The short answer to that is, we have to start, first, with data and if sentiment and anxiety are borne out by the data and there is a real need, then, of course, we will step in to do more.

But if we have a situation where there is anxiety, which is without real basis – and we can understand how that happens, sometimes, where people get concerned because others are talking about it; and then others talk about it, then, you have a general anxiety, but there is no real basis for that anxiety – then, there may not be a need to provide additional support for that. And really, the answer would be to address what is causing that anxiety or that concern.

Then, the second, do we look at target groups? The answer is yes, obviously, we do. And if the Member looks at the various measures, the Member will see that some are targeted at seniors, some are targeted at the lower-income. We introduced climate vouchers, initially, for Housing and Development Board dwellers and then, extended it to private housing.

So, there are different funding for different purposes. Sometimes you look at the demographic group, but sometimes you also look at the social purpose. For example, you may need to provide support for childcare. That is a different thing. So, there is a whole range that we look at.

And will we consider additional forms of support? The Member cited SG60 vouchers and targeted subsets. The SG60 vouchers were because this is our SG60 year. In deciding what to give to mark or commemorate SG60, we thought it would be helpful to give the vouchers because it would help with cost of living but it also gave people options with what to do with it. So, depending on what the circumstances are, we will see.

And then, for targeted subsets, again, the general principle is that we look to need or, sometimes, when we are trying to drive a certain form of behaviour, like when we wanted to encourage people with lifelong learning, we introduced the SkillsFuture credits. So, there is a whole range that we will take into account, including the economic situation.