The Future Challenges Of Singapore Society

Singapore has matured just like I have, in the past 21 years, presenting itself as an exciting city full of opportunities and dreams. As I bloom and bud towards adulthood, the road ahead looks promising, yet challenging. Nevertheless, I believe I can tide through these bumps and reach my destination. Similarly, my vision for SG100 is for Singapore to fly high, overcoming challenges and setbacks; a Singapore where Singaporeans have equal opportunities for success while supporting each other to ensure no one is left behind.

Our challenges for the next 50 years

Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly. Today, 12.5% of Singaporeans are aged 65 and above. By 2030, this figure will double. This dramatic shift in the population make-up is already driving healthcare spending upwards. Given that healthcare is the biggest challenge for the future of social spending, we need to raise more revenues and spend effectively.

On the other hand, as the Singapore society becomes more matured and settled and class divisions firm up, social mobility slows down.

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This could result in one's starting disadvantage becoming a lasting disadvantage. Singapore's Gini coefficient fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2016, and it remains one of the most unequal among developed societies. This means that in order to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to move up the rungs of society, we need to work harder.

Unlike the challenges 50 years ago, our social challenges today – an ageing population, falling fertility rates, and disparities in income, wealth and social capital – are becoming more complex.

As such, to realise my vision as we tide through these challenges, Singapore’s social security system needs to continue to evolve and adapt to the changing environment and needs of Singaporeans, while preserving the fundamental principles of financial sustainability, individual drive and responsibility.

How should we tackle these challenges?

Our social security system’s heavy reliance on individual responsibility has worked well for the past 50 years. However, as our social challenges today become more complex, it is now clear that individual efforts alone will not be enough. There are some things which individuals cannot do on their own and there are other things which we can do much better as a community together. As such, we must shift the balance between individual and collective responsibility where the community and government must play a bigger role to support individuals and level up low-income Singaporeans; sharing the risks through a stronger social safety net, so that no one has to face life’s uncertainties such as housing and healthcare costs on his own; and keep our society mobile, so that everyone can move up the social ladder through their efforts.

As social issues continue to be more interdependent, the challenges which vulnerable individuals and families face often become complex and deep-rooted. Thus, Singapore’s social security system must become more flexible and targeted so as to deliver interventions that meet the needs of those vulnerable in a manner that is timely and effective. To do this, we need to enhance coordination across agencies and restructure them to provide better access to services that have greater flexibility to meet diverse needs. Furthermore, public agencies also need to reflect on the way they deliver services, stay up-to-date of ground concerns, and coordinate support for Singaporeans in need so as to contribute more efficiently to the government’s work in the development of families, social services and social safety nets. Therefore, new forms of partnership with every community are also required to help public agencies to stay connected and responsive to the changing needs and concerns of Singaporeans on the ground.

The government cannot face these complex challenges alone. Instead, it will have to harness the diverse strengths of our society. It is only by working collectively that we can achieve something greater than the sum of our parts. This means that the government must embrace leaders in every sector - from unions to voluntary welfare groups. These leaders must be united by a sense of common purpose to take Singapore forward, working in partnership with each other.

As we come up with solutions to our new challenges, we must always be aware of the risks involved. Many countries have tried to solve similar problems in the past but ended up with unwanted outcomes. Therefore, we have to tread carefully and beware of the pitfalls.

How should CPF evolve itself?

As the bedrock of social security in Singapore, CPF has kept up with the changing needs of Singaporeans for the past 50 years. Starting from just a compulsory retirement savings programme, CPF has since evolved to enable Singaporeans to cope with housing and medical costs while ensuring a secure retirement for all. As the challenges we face become ever more complex, CPF must continue to evolve to meet the needs of Singaporeans. Looking forward towards SG100, I envision CPF to transform itself into a leading social security institution that listens to Singaporeans while taking the lead to work with other agencies to transform social security policies to meet the dreams and aspirations of Singaporeans.

To meet our increasingly diverse needs, CPF needs to become more integrated with other social security agencies in order to provide flexible yet targeted and well-rounded help to Singaporeans. On the other hand, CPF needs to actively listen to Singaporeans to understand the difficulties faced so as to work with other agencies to solve them. As such, it is important for staff on the ground to be trained to pick up feedback and the changing needs of Singaporeans. Moreover, public discussions are another means for CPF to improve policies to suit Singaporeans better.

Even as CPF evolve, our interdependent and mutually reinforcing social security system which comprises of the CPF scheme, affordable healthcare and home ownership, needs to remain. This is because this system is underpinned by individual responsibility and effort, with the family unit as the first line of support - a system that is more financially sustainable in the long term. On the other hand, as we tweak and introduce new CPF policies, we must always be aware of the risks involved because the CPF is not a system unto its own, but its impact cut across Singapore society and the economy. It is only through careful analysis, constructive discussions and constant reflection and improvement can we minimise risks and poor outcomes.

Conclusion

The challenges we face today are vastly different from those half a century ago. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for Singapore, opportunities for Singaporeans to come out of these challenges united and stronger. Change is a constant process, and just like how CPF and other social security agencies have evolved successfully to adapt to changes over the past 50 years, I strongly believe we will be able to evolve and build a better Singapore for all of us.