Tag Archives: TAN CHUAN-JIN

The Manpower Minister has stoutly defended the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system that has come under attack online. "The CPF is put in place to help Singaporeans have peace of mind when it comes to their retirement years," wrote Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin in a blog on Sunday night. Apart from retirement, CPF savings have helped Singaporeans own homes and cover healthcare expenses, said Mr Tan. "Many of us are already using our CPF monies to fund expenses that would otherwise have come from our disposable income."

CPF interest rates are guaranteed and risk-free. The interest is paid whether or not the Government’s investments backing its liabilities to CPF, including investments managed by GIC, do well or not. So if GIC’s investments actually lose money, as they did during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09, CPF members will still get the 2.5% interest on our funds in the Ordinary Account.

My dad is semi-retired and he is very concerned about the latest changes in the CPF minimum sum scheme. Honestly, I'm only in my mid-twenties and CPF MS doesn't affect me much. Out of curiosity, I searched around the internet to understand more about CPF MS but I was very disappointed because the CPF website itself is so difficult to navigate and it does not explain itself well at all. It is very frustrating.

My friend made the money in his CPF account when he had been a businessman. Given the chance, he would want to start a business again. There could be a withdrawal cap of between 10 and 20 per cent when the amount in reserve is above S$100,000. Let us move forward without leaving any citizen behind. Let us be an inclusive society for all Singaporeans.

COMMUTERS living at Chai Chee estate will get some relief during peak periods, after a new feeder route that complements an existing one was launched yesterday. Service 222P will run during the morning and evening peak periods on weekdays, to ease the crush and cut waiting times for those using 222. The "peak period short service" will ply a truncated route from Bedok MRT station through Chai Chee estate before heading back via New Upper Changi Road. This will provide residents with more buses to get to the MRT, and also benefit students from Ping Yi Secondary. Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said residents have highlighted the overcrowding and long waits for service 222 for some time.

PM Lee released a press statement today (29 Apr) announcing changes to the Cabinet and other appointments. This is the third round of changes after the 2011 General Election, and comes just eight months after the last round in August last year. He said, “Singapore is going through an important transition. We are creating opportunities for all by upgrading our workers’ skills and raising our productivity. We are helping Singaporeans lead more fulfilling lives by promoting sports and culture, and engaging our youth in nation-building. We are giving Singaporeans more peace of mind by strengthening our social safety nets through policies like the Pioneer Generation Package and MediShield-Life.”

The CPF Board should allow more flexibility and options in funding the Retirement Account. For instance, if the member is able to fund the Retirement Account fully using his Ordinary Account or with a cash top-up, he should be allowed to continue earning higher interest on his Special Account.

COMPLAINTS about preferential treatment of foreigners remain the No. 1 gripe Singaporeans have over unfair employment practices, for the third year running. They made up more than half of the 475 grievances - involving 295 employers - lodged last year with the national anti-discrimination watchdog. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) did not reveal an exact breakdown in its annual review released yesterday.

The foreign graduates pointed out that one downside of the tightened hiring policies is that some of their peers may cite difficulty in getting jobs as an excuse to leave Singapore without serving their bonds. They asked that MOE allow them to defer their bonds if they cannot get employed. This has been done previously. In 2001, for example, non-Singaporean graduates on tuition grants could have their bonds suspended for a year if they could not get jobs upon graduation or lost their jobs.

The government says it wants to increase professional, manager, executive and technician jobs for Singaporeans. Many of these jobs are in MNCs, where are here not because they love our country, but because they see it as a place where they can set up shop and make what they consider to be a reasonable profit. When the MNCs go, many small and medium-sized enterprises enterprises will also be affected because they are sub-contractors of the MNCs.