https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/c...ated-cost-living-support-measures-budget-2025
singapore
Respondents of a poll conducted by AsiaOne said that they prefer support measures like cash payouts and CDC vouchers to cushion rising costs.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Danial Zahrin
PUBLISHED ON February 07, 2025 12:05 PMByBhavya Rawat
While preparing for their upcoming wedding and move into their new home, 24-year-old Lee and her fiancé noticed how quickly unforeseen expenses can add up.
In such moments, the operations executive turned to the cash payouts and CDC vouchers disseminated by the government as part of Budget 2024.
“When I was paying all these deposits for the wedding, having that extra cash made me a little less anxious about all the money we had to spend,” she told AsiaOne.
Lee added that cash-equivalent measures such as CDC vouchers allow her and her fiancé to maximise their savings, which they intend to use for their future children’s education.
"I can use them to cover some groceries and meals so I can have more [money] for other expenses or my savings," she explained.
Lee hopes that the government will continue to provide such support measures during Budget 2025 to alleviate the cost of living issues many Singaporeans face.
She is not the only one with a preference for cash or cash-equivalent measures to combat rising costs.
In fact, CDC vouchers as well as the Cost of Living special payment and Assurance Package cash were the top three cost of living support measures from Budget 2024 which respondents of a survey conducted by AsiaOne looked forward to seeing in Budget 2025.
The survey, conducted in December last year, polled some 1,805 respondents on their attitudes towards the cost of living in Singapore and measures introduced during Budget 2024.
16 per cent of respondents were not concerned about the cost of living, while 4 per cent were unsure.
HDB flat dwellers were more likely than private housing dwellers to be concerned about the cost of living in the next six months, with this gap widening slightly between this poll and the previous one which was run in May 2024.
When respondents who voiced concerns or were unsure about the cost of living in the next six months were asked what their cause for concern might be, the cost of food (75 per cent) remained the top issue among them, though this has declined across the past two polls.
This was followed by the cost of utilities (71 per cent) and the cost of healthcare (62 per cent).
Notably, the percentage of respondents who selected healthcare costs as a cause for concern rose by five percentage points from May 2024 to December 2024, the only aspect that recorded an increase between the two polls.
When asked how they are adjusting to the rising cost of living, 67 per cent of these respondents said that they are cutting back on non-essentials.
Dining out less was the next most common way of adjusting to the increase in living costs, as it was selected by 55 per cent of respondents.
Most notably, the option to wait for government handouts, like for Lee, saw an increase of nine percentage points across the December 2023 and December 2024 polls.
This was followed by enhancing healthcare assistance (39 per cent) and making housing more affordable (33 per cent).
Housing affordability was more commonly selected by respondents aged 25 to 34 while assistance for healthcare was a bigger concern among those aged 45 and above.
Those aged 65 and above were also more likely to want the government to prioritise enabling seniors to age well.
Besides the support measures that respondents hoped to see at Budget 2025, we also asked which other areas they think the Government could do more to help Singaporeans cope financially.
Medical fees charged by public healthcare institutions (50 per cent) was the most common option chosen among respondents. This was followed by subsidies for health-related Government-run insurance schemes (40 per cent), cash-related support for seniors (38 per cent) and public transport fares (33 per cent).
While this is a first time fall in the proportion of respondents who expressed concern over the cost of living, it remains the top-of-mind issue for most by far, said Chua.
"Notably, inflation has softened in 2024 compared to a year ago. This could be subconsciously felt by our respondents," he explained.
Concerns regarding rising costs show up not just in this poll, but also in other studies conducted by AsiaOne over the past two years, he added.
"For example, in our last poll on mental health and wellness, cost of living was most likely to be identified as a main cause of mental stress for Singaporeans, with 59 per cent of respondents saying so."
"Likewise, in our recent survey on retirement, rising cost of living was most commonly identified (76 per cent) as a key challenge to respondents achieving their retirement goals."
Chua also stated that the increasing cost of healthcare could imply that greater effort should be placed in illness prevention.
"While it is likely that the government would step up on efforts to promote healthy lifestyles as part of the Forward SG roadmap, such efforts can only succeed if Singaporeans respond to them."
"This could include adopting more healthy living habits and signing up for regular health checks under Healthier SG."
singapore
Cash and cash-equivalents most anticipated cost of living support measures for Budget 2025: AsiaOne survey
Respondents of a poll conducted by AsiaOne said that they prefer support measures like cash payouts and CDC vouchers to cushion rising costs.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Danial Zahrin
PUBLISHED ON February 07, 2025 12:05 PMByBhavya Rawat
While preparing for their upcoming wedding and move into their new home, 24-year-old Lee and her fiancé noticed how quickly unforeseen expenses can add up.
In such moments, the operations executive turned to the cash payouts and CDC vouchers disseminated by the government as part of Budget 2024.
“When I was paying all these deposits for the wedding, having that extra cash made me a little less anxious about all the money we had to spend,” she told AsiaOne.
Lee added that cash-equivalent measures such as CDC vouchers allow her and her fiancé to maximise their savings, which they intend to use for their future children’s education.
"I can use them to cover some groceries and meals so I can have more [money] for other expenses or my savings," she explained.
Lee hopes that the government will continue to provide such support measures during Budget 2025 to alleviate the cost of living issues many Singaporeans face.
She is not the only one with a preference for cash or cash-equivalent measures to combat rising costs.
In fact, CDC vouchers as well as the Cost of Living special payment and Assurance Package cash were the top three cost of living support measures from Budget 2024 which respondents of a survey conducted by AsiaOne looked forward to seeing in Budget 2025.
The survey, conducted in December last year, polled some 1,805 respondents on their attitudes towards the cost of living in Singapore and measures introduced during Budget 2024.
Cost of food, utilities and healthcare top concerns
80 per cent of respondents were concerned about the cost of living in the next six months, of whom about half said that they will have difficulties making ends meet even if they made adjustments.16 per cent of respondents were not concerned about the cost of living, while 4 per cent were unsure.
HDB flat dwellers were more likely than private housing dwellers to be concerned about the cost of living in the next six months, with this gap widening slightly between this poll and the previous one which was run in May 2024.
When respondents who voiced concerns or were unsure about the cost of living in the next six months were asked what their cause for concern might be, the cost of food (75 per cent) remained the top issue among them, though this has declined across the past two polls.
This was followed by the cost of utilities (71 per cent) and the cost of healthcare (62 per cent).
Notably, the percentage of respondents who selected healthcare costs as a cause for concern rose by five percentage points from May 2024 to December 2024, the only aspect that recorded an increase between the two polls.
When asked how they are adjusting to the rising cost of living, 67 per cent of these respondents said that they are cutting back on non-essentials.
Dining out less was the next most common way of adjusting to the increase in living costs, as it was selected by 55 per cent of respondents.
Most notably, the option to wait for government handouts, like for Lee, saw an increase of nine percentage points across the December 2023 and December 2024 polls.
Top priorities for Budget 2025
When asked what the government’s top three priorities for Budget 2025 should be, 65 per cent of respondents selected support for cost of living.This was followed by enhancing healthcare assistance (39 per cent) and making housing more affordable (33 per cent).
Housing affordability was more commonly selected by respondents aged 25 to 34 while assistance for healthcare was a bigger concern among those aged 45 and above.
Those aged 65 and above were also more likely to want the government to prioritise enabling seniors to age well.
Besides the support measures that respondents hoped to see at Budget 2025, we also asked which other areas they think the Government could do more to help Singaporeans cope financially.
Medical fees charged by public healthcare institutions (50 per cent) was the most common option chosen among respondents. This was followed by subsidies for health-related Government-run insurance schemes (40 per cent), cash-related support for seniors (38 per cent) and public transport fares (33 per cent).
Cost of living 'top-of-mind' issue for most
Edmund Chua, who heads AsiaOne's consumer insights and analytics group, said that the team started monitoring readers' sentiments towards cost of living since July 2022.While this is a first time fall in the proportion of respondents who expressed concern over the cost of living, it remains the top-of-mind issue for most by far, said Chua.
"Notably, inflation has softened in 2024 compared to a year ago. This could be subconsciously felt by our respondents," he explained.
Concerns regarding rising costs show up not just in this poll, but also in other studies conducted by AsiaOne over the past two years, he added.
"For example, in our last poll on mental health and wellness, cost of living was most likely to be identified as a main cause of mental stress for Singaporeans, with 59 per cent of respondents saying so."
"Likewise, in our recent survey on retirement, rising cost of living was most commonly identified (76 per cent) as a key challenge to respondents achieving their retirement goals."
Chua also stated that the increasing cost of healthcare could imply that greater effort should be placed in illness prevention.
"While it is likely that the government would step up on efforts to promote healthy lifestyles as part of the Forward SG roadmap, such efforts can only succeed if Singaporeans respond to them."
"This could include adopting more healthy living habits and signing up for regular health checks under Healthier SG."
