Croc Tears Lim: "Most S'poreans hard-headed & realistic.Return their money." (1984)

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Now, let me turn to the controversial proposal to raise the withdrawal age of CPF. First, I think it is unreasonable to raise the withdrawal age of CPF before there is general acceptance of raising the retirement age. How is the worker expected to live from 55 to 60 if he is without a job? The Minister has earlier said that he has got other savings. But to which group of workers in Singapore is he referring to? To the lower income group or the upper income group? I am not sure that the lower income group will have that much savings, We can only consider the step of raising the withdrawal age of CPF, even if it is desirable, when we are sure that the worker will continue in his job till the age of 60.

Secondly, Singaporeans expect to withdraw their CPF balances at 55 years, and have made their plans accordingly. Some wish to invest in business or place it in banks where they may get better returns, or utilize part of it to fulfil religious obligations, such as a pilgrimage to Mecca, or even reward themselves for the long years of labour by a holiday trip once in his life-time.

The Committee contends that “the lump sum of CPF money gives them an illusion of financial security”. It makes the assumption that the people as a whole are unwise, more likely to squander the money and, therefore, ought to be protected against their own weaknesses. I hold the opposite view. The vast majority of Singaporeans are hard-headed and realistic. They also happen individually to think that they themselves know best how to invest their money for maximum returns.

It is this wish to maximize returns on their CPF savings that makes it so difficult for them to accept the possibility of later withdrawal. If they think that keeping their CPF balances with CPF is better than depositing with a bank or invest in stocks and shares, they would willingly leave their money with CPF. For example, raise the interest rate to 20% and see how many would withdraw their savings from CPF? I think the CPF Board would have a hard time asking them to withdraw. But what is it that the Committee was trying to achieve in suggesting deferring the withdrawal of CPF funds? It is not to keep the worker’s CPF savings but to help him manage his savings. This is as far as I understood from the Minister’s explanation. The question then is, to what extent should the Government...http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014...oon-heng-1984/


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