SINGAPORE – Seniors in Singapore with lesser means will soon get more retirement support when the Silver Support Scheme kicks in this July, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said during his Budget speech in Parliament on Thursday (Mar 24).

First announced at last year’s Budget, the scheme will cost the Government close to $320 million in its first year, and will benefit more than 140,000 senior citizens.

The scheme supports the bottom 20 per cent of Singaporeans aged 65 and above. A smaller degree of support will be extended to cover up to 30 per cent of seniors.

However, Mr Heng revealed that the first payouts would be made in July this year, and not in the first quarter as previously announced, as more time was needed to operationalise the scheme.

In his speech, he noted that some of Singapore’s elderly have fewer resources in their retirement years because they earned low wages or stayed home to raise their families.

The Silver Support Scheme, he said “can be a modest but meaningful supplement to their retirement incomes”.

He also revealed that three criteria would be used to identify those eligible for the scheme:

1. Lifetime wages – Seniors who have less than $70,000 in total CPF contributions by the time their 55 will be eligible.

2. Housing type – Seniors living in four-room or smaller HDB flats qualify. Those who live in five-room HDB flats, but do not own the flat, will also qualify if they meet the other criteria.

3. Household support – Seniors in the bottom one-third of households where each member earns less than $1,100 a month on average are eligible.

Eligible seniors will receive payouts of between $300 and $750 every quarter, depending on their flat type.

Mr Heng said that the first payout in July will be a double payout for two quarters – April to June 2016 and July to September 2016. He added that the following two payouts will be made in end-September and end-December.

Senior citizens do not need to apply for the scheme, and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board will notify those eligible before the first payout, and payments will be automatic.

Mr Christopher Norton, Director (Healthcare) at PwC South East Asia Consulting, said: “Budget 2016 demonstrates a commitment to support the ageing population through the implementation of the Silver Support Scheme, improving the health and well-being of all.”

However, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) said that lifetime earnings should be the primary criterion for determining whether a senior citizen is eligible for the Silver Support Scheme.

Ms Jolene Tan, the advocacy group’s programmes and communications senior manager, pointed out that a senior citizen may not be able to access the value of housing owned or income earned by family members. “Housing type seems heavily determinative of the level of Silver Support available, which means older people’s needs still risk going unmet.”

Meanwhile, Mr Heng also announced that community networks, comprising small teams of officers who will study the health and social needs of seniors, will be piloted.

“Together, we must, and will, make Singapore a model for successful ageing, and empower all to age with dignity and vitality,” he said.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE – Parents whose babies are born from March 24 onwards will get a grant of $3,000, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his Budget statement today.

This new First Step Grant will go into children’s Child Development Accounts (CDA).

Under the Baby Bonus Scheme, the Government currently matches parents’ savings in the CDA dollar for dollar, up to a ceiling of $6,000 for the first and second child.  For example, if parents save $3,000 for a child, the Government will match that with another $3,000, bringing the total in the account to $6,000. 

With this new grant, parents will not have to contribute anything first. However, the amount will still count towards the existing caps, meaning that if parents save $3,000 after receiving $3,000 from the Government, they will hit the co-sharing ceiling of $6,000.

But they will get $9,000 in total, which is more than the $6,000 they would have had before the grant. 

First Step Grant will be deposited from July 1.

Parents of babies born between Thursday and June 30 should wait until July 1 before saving into the CDA, said an announcement on the Ministry of Family and Social Development’s BabyBonus website. 

Those who choose to save into the CDA before July 1 will not be eligible for the grant.

Minister Heng also announced that the Medisave withdrawal limit for pre-delivery medical expenses will be doubled from $450 to $900, effective immediately.

maryanns@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE – The following are some highlights of Singapore’s budget proposals for the fiscal year that begins April 1.

The budget statement comes as Singapore’s trade-reliant $402 billion economy has been buffeted by a slowdown in China and tepid global demand, and faces lacklustre growth prospects.

The government announced support for the struggling marine and process sectors. In a sign of the challenges companies face, businesses saw labour costs rise in 2015, even as economic growth slowed and headline consumer prices fell.

The budget was presented in parliament on Thursday by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.

BUDGET FORECASTS

– Likely to record an overall budget surplus of $3.4 billion or 0.8 per cent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2016/17

– Total spending in fiscal 2016/17 is expected to rise by $5 billion from the current year

FOREIGN LABOUR AND PRODUCTIVITY

– The government will defer levy increases for work permit holders in marine and process sectors for one year.

– Manufacturing work permit levies will remain unchanged for another year as announced in the previous budget.

ECONOMY/COMPANIES

– Singapore will launch a $4.5 billion Industry Transformation Programme to strengthen enterprises and industry, and to drive growth through innovation.

– Economic growth forecast for 2016 remains unchanged at between 1 to 3 per cent.

TAXES

– No changes made for corporate and personal income tax rates

– Existing corporate income tax rebate raised for two years to 50 per cent of tax payable from 30 per cent, with a cap of $20,000 for each year.

PROPERTY MARKET

– Based on price levels and market conditions, the government assessed it is premature to relax the range of property cooling measures introduced over the past few years.

– Says will continue to monitor developments in the market closely.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered his maiden Budget speech in Parliament today.

Here are some important announcement he made earlier today that is important to you as a SME or startup owner.

Minister Heng shared that there are three main thrusts for this year’s Budget, which includes: Addressing cyclical weaknesses, enabling firms to build more capabilities, as well as supporting people through change.

Budget 2016 – Announcements which are relevant for start-ups:

1. Wage Payout Scheme – Firms will continue to enjoy the Wage Credit Scheme. Under the Scheme, the Government will co-fund 40 per cent of wage increases given to Singapore Citizen employees earning a gross monthly wage of $4,000 and below in 2013 – 2015. Only Employers are eligible for the co-funding. This month alone, Minister Heng shared that firms will receve a total of S$1.9 billion in wage credit payout, the largest payout to date.

2. Corporate income tax relief will be increased to from 30 per cent to 50 per cent, though it is capped at S$20,000. This is to help SMEs in Singapore to tide through the tough economy. The higher percentage rebate is targetted at SMEs.

3. The Special Employment Credit will also be extended for 3 years until 2019. Under the scheme, employers enjoy wage offsets up to 8 per cent when they hire Singaporean workers aged 55 and above, and earning up to $4,000 a month.

4. Singapore is also launching a new SME Working Capital Loan scheme for loans up to S$300,000 per SME. The government will co-share 50 per cent of default risk of such loans. This is to spur confidence among banks and capital institutions to provide more capital loans to companies who need them.

DBS also recently launched a collateral free business capabilities loan, which is a bridging finance solution to support government grant scheme.

5. Singapore is focusing on a new Industry Transformation Programme focusing more on tech adoption and partnership.

“There is no such thing as a sunset industry. There’s only sunset thinking.” – Minister Heng.

6. There will be a new business grants portal, slated to be launched end of this year. The new portal will make it easier for firms to apply for schemes. Firms of all sizes can go to this portal to find out which schemes apply to them.

“Firms will not need to go from agency to agency, to find out which grants are available to them,” Minister Heng.

7. The government is also pushing for firms to automate their business processes. There will be a new support package which will fund up to 50 per cent of project automation cost if the project is approved. This is capped at S$1,000,000 per project. There’s also a 100 per cent investment allowance for automation equipment.

8. The government topping up the SME Mezzanine Growth Fund up from S$100m to S$150m to help SMEs scale up and internationalise. SPRING and IE Singapore tasked to help businesses access overseas markets. In 2016, IE Singapore expects to help 35,000-40,000 companies to venture overseas, up from 35,000 firms last year.

9. Government announced a S$450 million National Robotics Programme – S$450 million has been allocated to promote and scale up the robotics sector in Singapore. This is great news for startups in the robotics sector.

10. Government is also allocating up to S$4 billion in Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 Plan for industry-research collaboration. There’s a top-up of S$1.5 billion to National Research Fund.

11. There will be a new initiative: “SG Innovate” which will match budding entrepreneurs to mentors. “The startup scene is now more vibrant than ever before” – Minister Heng. No details on SG Innovate is available yet.

12. PIC cash payout to drop to 40 per cent for expenses incurred on or 1 August 2016. 400 per cent tax deductions under PIC scheme remain unchanged; scheme will retire as planned and there will be no extension.

13. The newly announced Jurong Innovation District will be “industrial park of the future”. It will ” transform how we live, work, play or create.” It will integrate NTU and its surrounding areas. JID will be housing R&D and prototyping labs, “maker’s spaces” and self-driving vehicles, among others. The first phase will JID targeted for completion in 2022.

So there we have it, some of the most important important regarding SMEs and the start-up ecosystem in Singapore. We are particularly excited about the upcoming JID, though it will only be completed in 2022. We are also excited about the possibilities of the robotics industry in Singapore.

Vulcan Post is all about living life with a digital edge, up and coming startups, and people who inspire conversations.
Visit Vulcan Post for more stories.

SINGAPORE – Singapore is likely to record an overall budget surplus of $3.4 billion or 0.8 per cent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2016/17 starting on April 1, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Thursday.

For fiscal 2015/16, the government is likely to record a deficit of $4.9 billion or 1.2 per cent of GDP, down from a $6.7 billion deficit the government budgeted a year ago, Heng said.