Singapore
Live: Budget 2024 – DPM Wong announces support for households worth S$1.9 billion
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Live: Budget 2024 – DPM Wong announces support for households worth S$1.9 billion
Watch the Budget speech live on CNA from 3.30pm and follow our blog for the latest key announcements.
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16 Feb 2024 01:32PM (Updated: 16 Feb 2024 04:06PM)
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SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong is presenting Singapore's 2024 Budget.
He has described this year's Budget as the first instalment of plans set out in the
Forward Singapore roadmap, which outlines steps the country must take in response to challenges ahead and shifts in people's aspirations.
"It is a Budget to keep Singapore moving forward, equip our citizens to realise their fullest potential and give more assurance to our families and seniors amidst a more troubled world," Mr Wong said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Watch the Budget speech live on CNA from 3.30pm and follow our blog for the latest developments.
Just now
Financial top-ups for lower-income families
For lower-income families with young children who are eligible for ComLink+ support, the government will roll out additional support.
They will receive financial top-ups when they work with MSF-assigned family coaches on an action plan and take steps towards long-term goals.
For example, adults can each receive payouts of up to S$600 every quarter – through a combination of cash and CPF top-ups – if they get a job and stay employed.
3 minutes ago
More support for ITE graduates
The Finance Minister also announced a new ITE Progression Award, which comes in two parts.
The first part is a S$5,000 top-up to the post-secondary education accounts of ITE graduates when they enrol in a diploma programme.
The second is when students attain their diplomas - they will get a further S$10,000 top-up to their CPF Ordinary Accounts.
“This will give them a head start in purchasing a home or saving for retirement,” said Mr Wong.
5 minutes ago
Equality and mobility
One of the main goals of the Forward Singapore exercise is to strengthen social compact. In many developed countries, rising inequality and slowing social mobility have fractured social cohesion, said Mr Wong.
In Singapore, income inequality has declined to its lowest level in over 20 years.
To ensure this continues, the qualifying income cap for the Workfare Income Supplement scheme will be raised from S$2,500 to S$3,000.
Workfare payouts will also be raised. Lower-wage senior workers will qualify for a maximum annual payout of S$4,900, up from S$4,200.
The local qualifying salary - the lowest salary that local workers must be paid if a firm hires foreign workers - will also be raised from S$1,400 to $1,600 from this year. The minimum hourly rate will be increased from S$9 to S$10.50.
Two years ago, the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme was introduced. Under the scheme, the government co-funds the wage increases of lower-wage workers.
Mr Wong announced that for this year, the co-funding levels will be raised from a maximum of 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
The scheme’s wage ceiling will also be raised from S$2,500 to S$3,000 in 2025.
10 minutes ago
Financial support for retrenched workers
Last year, the
number of retrenchments was more than double that of the year before – from 6,440 in 2022 to 14,320 in 2023.
“Losing a job is a major setback for workers and their families,” said Mr Wong.
“Those who become involuntarily unemployed naturally feel the pressure to rush into the first available job they find, but the new job may not always be a good fit.”
He said the government will introduce a temporary financial support scheme for those who are involuntarily unemployed while they undergo training or look for jobs that are a better fit.
The scheme has to be designed “carefully”, to avoid the pitfalls that other countries experienced when they introduced unemployment benefits. More details will be announced later this year.
