The CPF Payout Eligibility Age should be lowered from 65 to 60, as part of helping the elderly to age with independence and dignity.

This was the call made by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Daniel Goh from the Workers' Party (WP) during the Budget 2019 debate, on Feb. 26, in Parliament.

Using the Merdeka Generation Package as a springboard for his suggestions, Goh touched on a wide range of issues with regard to how the elderly could better live out their years, with greater flexibility and freedom for employment.

As such, Goh put forth several proposals in his speech.

Greater flexibility in use of the CPF as a safety net

Lowering CPF Payout Eligibility Age

Elaborating on why the WP was of the stance that the CPF Payout Eligibility Age should be lowered, Goh stated that it was to give Singaporeans the option of having a supplementary income to meet their needs.

In particular, it would help elderly Singaporeans who do not have enough savings and do not own any property assets, but can still work.

In such cases, Goh added, these Singaporeans are working to survive, rather than because they want to or are able to.

Goh acknowledged that while Workfare Income Supplement and perhaps even ComCare would help them, he added:

"for a senior who can work...(they) would rather age with independence and not be dependent on state handouts."

Conversely, there should also be the option for the elderly to leave their money in their CPF accounts should they not need the supplement income, so as to continue accumulating interest and receive larger payouts later.

Adjusting criteria for making partial CPF withdrawals because of medical reasons

Goh suggested that CPF can "function as an insurance against crises".

He said that CPF members should have the option to make partial withdrawals for medical reasons, especially if they were incapacitated physically or mentally for a significant period of time. 

Calling the current condition of only being to make partial withdrawals "when they are physically or mentally incapacitated to ever continuing in any employment" extreme, Goh added that under the new option, such withdrawals should be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The aim, Goh said, was to:

"help a member tide over the crisis with their own savings so that they can return to employment."

These were not the only changes that Goh proposed for the CPF however.

Restoring the CPF contribution of older workers

Another change that Goh put forth was the restoration of the CPF contribution of older workers.

This, Goh stated, should be done in tandem with a removal of the retirement age and a move of the re-employment age to 70, from its current age of 67.

Goh explained the rationale for the changes as primarily one of helping the elderly towards self-realisation:

"Our older workers should be respected for their experience gathered in a lifetime, and not forcibly retired when they still have so much to contribute in meaningful ways. Our seniors should be allowed to continue to use their skills developed in a lifetime so that they find their lives to be filled with purpose. Our seniors should also be treated with dignity, not subjected to an ageist mindset or have their wages docked mechanically by formula just for crossing some threshold making them “old”, when they can be just as productive."

Goh also clarified that in removing the retirement age, he did not mean Singaporeans should work until they die, but that rather, Singaporeans should have the freedom of choosing whether they wanted to retire at 60 or continue working, without financial worry.

Expanding healthcare subsidies

Expanding automatic enrolment in CHAS

Goh also touched on how healthcare subsidies could be expanded.

On the CHAS subsidies scheme, Goh proposed that the government automatically enroll Singaporeans who turn 60 in CHAS, so as to commit to providing primary care subsidies for all subsequent generations of seniors.

Goh explained that this was because the automatic enrolment of people eligible for the Merdeka Generation Package had effectively set a precedent for future generations -- the expectation that future generations would be automatically enrolled into the CHAS scheme to receive outpatient subsidies in their 60s.

Goh added that as such a precedent was not necessarily a bad one, since subsequent generations have also worked hard to build up Singapore.

"Did not the generation born in the 1960’s worked hard in the 1980’s and 1990’s during the first major economic restructuring and reskilling of the workforce? Did not the generation born in the 1970’s worked hard in the 1990’s and 2000’s to bring Singapore through the Asian Financial Crisis, the tech bubble recession, and the SARS crisis?

I do not think this is a bad precedent. In fact, it can and should be turned into something good."

Providing extra help to the women of the Merdeka Generation

Goh highlighted that women of the Merdeka Generation needed extra help due to the presence of a substantial gender gap in the wages that they had received from work done in their lifetime.

Citing figures from 2006, Goh said:

"In 2006, for CPF members aged 51-54, male members’ Ordinary Account and Special Account balances comprised 63 percent of the total balances of all members, leaving female members with 37 percent."

Such a gap, Goh stated, could be addressed by introducing gender-equal premiums for CareShield Life, along with the raising of the participation incentive, for elderly female enrolment in CareShield Life, in proportion to the gender gap in CPF savings.

Goh also called for the increase of long-term home and centre-based care subsidies and the adjustment of Medisave top-ups to better help the women.

Goh paid tribute to the work that they had done, noting that it was essential labour that had gone unpaid:

"The far majority of caregivers who have performed the work of childcare and eldercare for decades have been women. This work has been essential for functioning of our society, but this work has gone unpaid. We should honour these women for their sacrifices."

In implementing such proposals, Goh concluded, the Merdeka generation would be able to age with dignity and independence.

Top image collage from Daniel Goh Facebook and CPF Facebook