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Why CPF is Failing

The Independent
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Why CPF is Failing

By Eric Tan

When the PAP inherited the CPF system from the British, they did not change the basic flaw in the system, which was to allow members to withdraw all the funds when they reached the then retirement age of 55. Later in the 1980s when they tried to move the withdrawal age to 60 in tandem with the retirement age, there was strong resistance from the ground. Consequently, they lost the second parliamentary seat to opposition in 1984.

I suspect that in order to achieve the same purpose, the mandarins then created the minimum sum and special account structure. They designed the minimum amount to increase over time such that when the baby boomers retire, it would balloon to a substantial amount. Today I believe those mandarins would have been very pleased with themselves as for more than 50 percent of CPF members who reached 55 almost all their funds in the ordinary account are transferred to the special account to meet the minimum amount requirement. However, they did not anticipate the public outcry arising from it.

The CPF as a retirement scheme has two problems, firstly the withdrawal age of 55 is outdated as people live longer and need to work longer before they can withdraw their CPF. Furthermore, withdrawal at 55 is uncoordinated with the current retirement age of 62 today. Secondly, the lump sum withdrawal is not in line with the principles of pension, which is an annuity.  The CPF members should convert the lump sum into an annuity. It looks like the government understands all these concepts. They put in place the minimum sum and CPF Life annuity.

Why this crisis of confidence?

Firstly, they did not effectively persuade people that these reforms are good for them. People felt they had been manipulated and had no choice in the matter. Ironically, in the age of the Internet it is difficult to dispel conspiracy theories.

Secondly, the CPF life annuity, which is now compulsory for those who turn 65, is not attractive. For the full minimum sum of $155,000, the retiree receives an annuity of about $1,200 for life. However, the people perceived that they have to be over 80 years old before they get back all their money. Most people do not believe they can live so long and they do not believe in the evidence reflected in the statistics. I am not an expert on annuity or actuarial science but shouldn’t the public know the amount of profits the outsourced insurance company makes from this scheme?

Lastly, the most important reason of all, most Singaporeans do not have sufficient funds in their CPF to retire. CPF is used to pay for housing, medisave, medishield insurance premiums and for paying parent’s medical expenses and children’s education.

Furthermore, the government uses CPF as a tool in recession to reduce wages.  These measures depleted the peoples’ CPF.  Why did the PAP government allow this to happen? Were they kicking the can down the road?

In the 1990s, I saw how the use of CPF for housing and medical expense led to inflated prices for these sectors. I supported the opposition movement and then joined the WP because I felt that we must debate these issues in Parliament for public scrutiny.  On one occasion in the 1990s, if I can recollect, a Minister mentioned that we have progressed so well such that clerks are now opting for A class hospital wards and soon there may not be a need for C class wards. They were depleting their medisave accounts for first class medical treatments.

For a while, the HDB stopped building two room flats under the illusion that we have prospered and there is no longer any demand for such flats. Unfortunately, for me it took another generation for the public to see the follies of these policies. For the longest time from 1990s until 2011, the people only voted two opposition MPs, signalling to the PAP all is well. It is only now the people experienced the negative impact of these policies. Today costly health care services, CPF and unaffordable HDB flats are hot button issues.

By not allowing the people to withdraw all their CPF when they reached 55 years old, it appears that they have broken their promises and subsequently lost the people’s trust.

The PAP also has to contend with the Asian cultural factor. Pensions are a Western concept, Asians expect their children to look after them. In the best case, we give our children a good education and happy childhood and we hope, out of love, they will look after us. In the most cynical case, we promise them an inheritance to induce them to look after us when we are old.

As my retired friend told me, you have to keep the honey so that the bees will keep coming back. I think the British introduced CPF to complement this system. Annuities do not leave an inheritance. However when they are far from sufficient to live on, you have a social time bomb.

Therefore, the government has to get off from their comfort zone and start persuading the people that they need to convert their CPF into an annuity to be drawn down after they retire at 62. One way is to make the CPF Life annuity very compelling and offering better rate of returns for CPF funds.

CPF  rate of return

In the past, CPF rate of returns have always been low but Singaporeans accepted them as we see it as supporting our nation building. I remembered in the early 1980s, Ong Teng Cheong had to defend the low 4 per cent per annum CPF rate when the bank deposits were close to 10 per cent. However, there were no protests as people can see that their lives were getting better and they believed the CPF funded the construction of the PIE, Changi Airport and JTC all of which contributed to our well-being. Ministers and top civil servants were not paid million dollar salaries then.

Today despite what the officials say, many believe that CPF is funding GIC and Temasek. Both sovereign funds are run like private equity funds with multi- million dollar salaries and bonuses paid to the fund managers working for them. The public response is understandable, why should they provide cheap CPF funds for these people to earn high salaries .They will demand more transparency and accountability for these funds.  Now comes the difficult question: how much risk should a pensioner take to get better returns?

CPF members have an option to invest part of their CPF balance in their ordinary account in CPF approved equities and unit trusts. However, the performance for those who opted to do so has been bad. As a result, the take up rate is low. The problem is that the average CPF member is not a well-informed investor. Also in the case of unit trusts, if the performance is poor, the unit trust fund managers are not accountable to the individual CPF investor.

The solution is that we should restructure the CPF funds into a pension fund with fund managers who are accountable directly to the CPF members or the public. These fund managers would enjoy economies of scale to reduce their costs. The large fund size would give them the advantage to gain access to the best deal flow and private equity funds. The Ministry of Finance through the CPF board can set guidelines on the range of risk appetite for different categories of investors. For example, those who have amounts in excess of $100,000 in their CPF can invest in equities otherwise they should be restricted to investment grade bond funds. These guidelines should be debated in Parliament.  CPF can then offer various mutual funds, including those from GIC and Temasek, to accommodate the CPF investor risk profile.

Proposed Action Plan for Government

The government must restore the original pension objectives of the CPF by gradually reducing the amounts from CPF, which can be used for housing and healthcare costs. The financial impact of a housing loan on your CPF balances when you retire is punitive as the total interest paid for a 25-year loan is equal or greater than the amount borrowed. For example if you borrow $200, 000, then when you repay it after 25 years, the total amount deducted from the CPF would be more than $400,000.  Reducing the amount that can be used for housing will have a negative impact on the property prices but the PAP government has to manage it since the problem originated in their watch.

The government must convince the people that deferring the CPF withdrawal and converting lump sums into annuities are good for them. They can do so by making the annuities more attractive and improving the returns as proposed above.

 

Eric Tan is a retired banker and former treasurer of the Workers Party

PM Fails As A Financial Planner

The Independent
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PM Fails As A Financial Planner

The  PM tried to play financial planner during his rally speech on Sunday and failed.  His advice for a fictitious Mr Tan just fell flat after it was examined by an associate professor of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in an article in The Straits Times.

Hui Weng Tat’s main contention is that the $2,000 a month the PM felt Mr Tan will need in his retirement  years will put him among the lowest 10 per cent  of resident households.

“The prospect of such retired households being forced down to the lowest decile on retirement certainly does not paint a very optimistic  view of adequate retirement living in Singapore,’’  the professor said.

And the PM did not even factor in inflation in his calculations.

His so-called big concession on CPF – allowing members to take out about 20 per cent of their savings at 65 – means nothing really.

Prof Hui questioned the move. “To my mind, that is merely a cosmetic change that seems to pander to popular demands. Allowing this may not be in the best interest of most CPF contributors  as any lump sum withdrawal means correspondingly lower amounts of retirement income for the individual.”

Tinkering with the CPF, as the PM did on Sunday, is not the way forward. A way has to be found to return the CPF to its original purpose of providing sufficient retirement savings.

Then we all can have peace of mind – a phrase the PM has used often enough to clutch at the straws of a survival strategy.

A PM in search of a legacy

The Independent
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A PM in search of a legacy

By Simon Vincent

Anticipations were high for this year’s National Day Rally speech. One could not help but wonder how Lee Hsien Loong would mark the event, days after his 10th year anniversary as prime minister.

As it turned out, the momentous occasion was matched by a momentous concession by Lee. Retired citizens would finally be able to withdraw a lump sum of their CPF savings, though not more than 20 per cent.

The CPF scheme has been a lingering bone of contention for many retirees who feel that they should be entitled to withdraw, as they see fit, the money they have worked hard to save over the years. While they may not be able to withdraw theirentire  savings, the modification to the CPF scheme allows a level of autonomy long denied to them.

This concession ties in well with the Pioneer Package, espoused by Lee during the speech. By using the “red card” issued in the package, older Singaporeans will now also be able to enjoy significant rebates in medical costs.

The Pioneer Package, as Lee indicated, was created to recognise the contributions of the older generation of Singaporeans who worked hard and sacrificed for Singapore. Yusof Ishak, the first president of Singapore, was among the people whom Lee had praised.

If Lee had chosen to identify his political legacy by recognising the Pioneer Generation, it might turn out to be a move to shore up his government’s popularity. After all, it would be hard to find any segment of society that disapproves of supporting the people who helped build Singapore.

Nevertheless, the lack of any engagement with socio-political issues, with disagreements and negotiations over civil liberties still brewing, was a glaring omission. The uproar over the recent banning of books by the NLB and the opposition of certain religious groups to Pink Dot were strangely absent from Lee’s speech.

As politically-neutered as his pioneer-oriented speech was, it might, ironically, have owed a debt to the nascent dialogue about civil liberties. In what was seen to be a step back for the state of our right to freedom of expression, the Prime Minister had pursued a defamation case against Roy Ngerng, prompting strong disapproval from the public. The issue that revolved around the defamation case was, of course, the CPF scheme.

Ngerng’s allegations about the misuse of CPF money by the Prime Minister might indeed have been baseless, yet we cannot deny that if not for Ngerng openly speaking up, the public discontentment over the CPF scheme would not have gained such traction.

It is hard to fathom that the Prime Minister’s explanation about the mechanics of the CPF had nothing to do with assuaging the fears and doubts raised by Ngerng.

“Together, let us be the pioneers of our generation,” said Lee at the end of his speech. “Together let us create a brighter future for all Singaporeans.”

Lee’s championing of the Pioneer Generation by giving them a renewed belief in Singapore may turn out to be a milestone in that hypothetical future and in his legacy. That achievement though would probably be weighed down by Lee’s poor handling of a society in transition. The News Licensing Scheme, the gazetting of Maruah and The Online Citizen as political organisations, and the defamation suit indicate a regressive strain of governance. Perhaps then it should be no surprise that there was no discussion of civil liberties in the National Day Rally speech.

The footsteps in the sands of Lee’s political tenure seem to indicate confused steps forward and backward.

Presents from PM Lee

The Independent
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Presents from PM Lee

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong introduced four popular — possibly vote-getting measures — in his National Day Rally speech last night. The first was to enable owners of four-room flats to enjoy the lease buy-back scheme, extending beyond current availability only to three-room flats. This will enable half the public flats in Singapore to find additional source of income each month from the HDB until their residents die.  Owners of larger flats had been asking their MPs for this for quite a while.

He also agreed to let retirees, upon reaching the age of 65, to take out up to 20 per cent of their CPF savings if they meet certain minimum sum requirements. He went to some length to explain the amount set ($155,000, to be raised to $161,000 next year). After his clear explanation, his comment that not many MPs were probably familiar with the maths involved drew some embarrassed twitter from the audience.

The third measure was the “silver support scheme” for the lower income retiree generation — the amount of which will be announced at the next Budget (In February 2015).

It is the fourth measure — the setting up of the Municipal Services Office to coordinate the various government agencies dealing with the public, including the police, the Land Authority, the Housing Board, National Parks, Animals and Veterinary Authority, Public Utilities — that will have the most immediate improvement to the quality of life for the average Singaporean. As soon as it is set up, under the Ministry of National Development, any member of the public with a complaint about public service need only call the MSO, instead of being given the usual runaround (cited by Lee himself, to much laughter from the audience).

Lee also cited many examples of young men and women who, despite not having degrees, were able to reach positions of management at Keppel Shipyard. The underlying message to young people and parents was clear: even without a degree, you can go much further if you work hard and seek training. Although the advice was obvious, it was clear from some of the MPs at the reception later that it was a hard message to get across.

The rest of his speech was peppered with personal accounts of pioneer generation folk, including Singapore’s first President, a Malay, Yusof Ishak, who would be honoured with a mosque, an institute and a social science chair after his name.

The major real estate development that follows every NDR speech will be the one at Jurong Lake over the next few years, including expanding the new Science Centre.

ESM Goh: The government must pass the demanding parental test

The Independent
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ESM Goh: The government must pass the demanding parental test

On the eve of the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong gave a speech where he mentioned a perceived “loosening” of the ties between the Singaporean government and its people. The speech was delivered at a dinner event at Marine Parade.

Goh highlighted the importance of a solid relationship between the people and their government and how this relationship is fundamental in the success of a nation. He cited many of the effects that the deterioration of this relationship has had, but he seemed to be less than clear on how this state of affairs came to be.

In the speech, he drew parallels between the relationships of parents and children to that of citizens and government. Goh pointed out that we love our parents no matter what their flaws may be, but in regard to government citizens tend to be quick to criticize even for the slightest mistakes.

Goh proceeded to state that this apparent unhealthy relationship has become what he calls “the New Normal” and that this condition has caused the nation to lose its direction, saying, “We still discuss and debate, consult and engage. But each group is now more assertive than before in pushing its point of view and vested interests. Each side does not want to give an inch without taking a quarter. The common space for Singaporeans is getting smaller instead of bigger”

He then went on to call for a greater understanding and he spoke for the need for Singaporeans to pull together not only as a people, but also as a people with their government. Coming back to his parent and child theme, he said, “The government must pass the demanding parental test, which is to help the next generation succeed to the best of their capabilities. But the next generation, too, must pass the family test in building on what they have inherited. They must demand as much of themselves as they do of the government.”

Some of the concerns voiced by the former prime minister might be debatable, but it is true that a healthy relationship between citizens and their government is important. However, this is an issue that has causes problems in many nations throughout the history of civilized society and solutions to this problem are often hard to find.

Lee Bee Wah quits because of foreign talent issues

The Independent
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Lee Bee Wah quits because of foreign talent issues

Nee Soon GRC MP sheds tears after reporting that she will not be taking part in the STTA presidency the upcoming month.

Being the president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) for six years, the sport achieved many new heights, such as winning many Olympic medals for the women’s team in London and Beijing and obtaining over S$10 million in the form of sponsorship dollars. However, her adversaries have commented that she achieved it at the expense of local talent.

Lee Bee Wah, announced on the 15th of August that she will no longer be competing in the re-election which is due to be held next month, is being continuously dogged by the matter of foreign talent in sports.

While the recently conducted Commonwealth Games observed the national paddlers obtaining 6 out of 7 medals at Glasgow 2014, many Singaporean fans started complaining on social media about the numerous foreign-born players in the team, which has two Singaporean-born paddlers Isabelle Li and Clarence Chew.

The same issues has surfaced more than a few times in the past six years, especially when a team of three Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei, and Wang Yuegu won gold at the World Championships four years ago. Ms. Lee pointed out yesterday that the STTA has been striving to improve the talent of their youth. For example, the STTA implemented a STTA-PAP Community Foundation program for children in kindergarten. The STTA has included training centers for paddlers from 5-11 years of age and a School-Within-A-School program which is located at the Singapore Sports School to develop future players for the nation.

During the Commonwealth Games women’s team final, Ms. Lee suggested the coach to field Isabelle Li for two single matches. However, the coach declared that Isabelle was not ready. If she had been fielded and lost the gold, they still would have been criticized.

Their aim is to leave no difference between foreign born and local players. Her six year tenure was not free from controversies. She started off with a great start after Beijing Olympics 2008 when she warned to take action against Liu Guodon and Antony Lee for a mishap that saw Gao Ning playing a match without the supervision of a coach on the sidelines. Ms Lee was a part of a disagreement with SNOC (Singapore National Olympic Council) ahead of Jakarta SEA Games 2011 after the idea to field more local players observed national selectors wanting to eliminate women’s and men’s teams from the initial contingent.

The STTA will reveal the candidates for the election on 25th August. The election will be held at the biennial general meeting on September 6th with Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Alex Yam and Sembawang GRC MP Ellen Lee to compete for the posts of deputy president and president.

 

Education: Teachers burdened with other duties besides teaching

The Independent
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Education: Teachers burdened with other duties besides teaching

By S. Bala

I was recently in the company of some teachers and the topic of interest among the teachers was the recent article on the Teaching and Learning International Survey conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.  The matter of contention that was unanimous among the teachers was how the survey was not reflective of the hours that are actually spent a week on the average. It was reported in the survey that Singaporean teachers spends an average of 48 hours per week but this was not so, considering the greater job demands. The other concern was that the sample size was not representative of the population of teachers in Singapore. The 3109 teachers sampled were from 159 secondary school.

Statistically speaking, the population sampling should represent the population of entire teaching fraternity which should include primary, secondary and tertiary so that the estimate of these results can be extrapolated to the larger population. Since only the secondary school teachers were surveyed, how can the results be reliable?

Another revelation from the survey that also got my attention was that the teachers were spending an average of 17 hours teaching compared to their peers in other countries who are spending 19 hours. Our teachers are spending more time doing administrative duties and significantly more time in marking. Are our teachers losing their primary focus on teaching and are focusing more time in administrative work at the expense of the students’ learning? There seems to be more time spent marking because the belief is that the quantity of work corresponds to the learning that takes place. The work assigned to the students should test the learning so if the students’ learning is compromised, this will lead to the acquiring of ambiguous knowledge which leads to limited interpretations of what the pupils know. These defeats the core purpose of a teacher’s part in student’s learning.

Though the results of this survey are not indicative of the sentiments of the teaching fraternity, it does support the claim that Singaporean teachers are burdened with other duties besides teaching. The teachers are mentally and physically exhausted with the other duties and this will invariably compromise the teaching and the students’ learning. Students’ learning is optimized when the teachers’ motivation level is high. If teachers are physically and mentally drained, it hinders the effectiveness of teaching performance in classes. All the initiatives introduced by the government will be fruitless if the teachers’ welfare is not met. If the government wants to sustain a strong education system and a world-class education service, it does not just suffice to provide a broad-based education system. The government has to increase the self-efficacy of teachers – the belief that teachers hold about their capability to influence student learning – by reducing the stress level of teachers by looking into their job scope.

Primary 1 places: How to make it less muddy

The Independent
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Primary 1 places: How to make it less muddy

My first school was Dorset Primary, right across the road from where I lived.  My brothers went to Victoria School located in Jalan Besar then, a couple of miles away. They took a bus to school but loved the independence that went with it.

I think good sense prevailed then: parents sent their children to schools nearest to their homes. I suspect my brothers were put in Victoria because that was the school my mother’s sons from her first marriage attended (it was close to where the boys lived, with their grandmother).

These days, proximity to the school doesn’t seem to help, with the masses of housing around. But would it help if the government were to insist that priority be given to those who live 1 km, then 2km, and 3km from the school. I was fortunate in that, at Primary 5, as Dorset School was about to be redeveloped, I was posted to Raffles Girls’ Primary. I drew on that to register my daughter at that school in 1996. We lived miles away, at Yishun, but I drove her to school every day, and spent a lot of time there as a parent volunteer as well.

Of course, schools in the high-end real estate areas such as Bukit Timah and the East Coast would be open to criticisms of being schools for rich kids; but quotas can be set aside, for parents who contribute to the school, clocking in adequate hours, fewer places for those who provide no non-financial support but who live a reasonable distance, and so on — all clear, transparent terms.

Will it work? Certainly better than the muddy current system that pleases no one but draws cries of being “unfair”. Children who are unable to find a school of choice will then be sent to the school nearest to them which still has vacancies.

The Ministry of Education has to ensure that heads of these “catch-all” schools set out to instill a culture of hard work and a happy environment for learning. That way, everyone wins and no one really loses.

A World United for Peace in Gaza

The Independent
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A World United for Peace in Gaza

Conflict is inevitable in any society. However, combat is always optional. For the people of Gaza, combat has become their reality. Their days are clouded by smoke from bombs, and they are lulled to sleep at night by the sounds of explosions. Their children and running in fields instead of dancing in playgrounds. Their women are mourning the dead instead of celebrating life. Their cry has resonated with people from all religions, backgrounds, races and nations. Their cry is universal; the cry for peace.

One can only wonder which word planted the hatred, which spark lit the embers of war, and which action fueled the fire that is burning the streets of Gaza. Regardless of the cause, the whole world is looking for the words that will still the storm, and the resonating demand for peace that will be loud enough to silence the blasts. People from all over the world, from Washington to Singapore have already condemned the senseless killing of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip. Even religious and political leaders have formed a brotherhood of man, to demand an end to the bloodshed.

On August 9th 2014, protesters from various cities around the world voiced their rage against the violence in Gaza. They poured out on the streets of Paris, Berlin, Cape Town, Tehran and even London to ask for an end to the siege. The former Cuban Leader, Fidel Castro, has also joined the voices that are calling for an end to violence. He has asked the Israel government to end the occupation of Gaza and to respect the resolutions that were passed by the United Nations.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has also joined the demonstrations against the violence in Gaza. He supports the pursuit of the people of Gaza for freedom from persecution and humiliation, calling it a righteous and unstoppable cause. Other leaders who have echoed these sentiments include the Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Argentinian Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Perez.

Anyone who has lived through conflict, lost through conflict or witnessed conflict knows that it never redresses any wrongs. They can attest to the fact that the only thing that is good about any conflict is its ending. The whole world has united in praying for a peaceful ending and resolution to the Gaza Crisis. Hopefully, the resounding demands for a ceasefire will prevail, and peace will have the final say.

WHO approves experimental drug to combat Ebola virus

The Independent
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WHO approves experimental drug to combat Ebola virus

With the death toll rising and health organizations struggling to get a handle on the situation, the World Health Organization has recently approved the use of experimental drugs to those stricken by the current outbreak of the Ebola virus that has hit many West African Nations. The WHO held emergency meeting s over the last several days and came to the conclusion that the scope of the situation overrode the ethical concerns in regard to using experimental drugs that have yet to pass human trials.

20140325_ebola1

With the drugs having yet to pass human trials, it is unknown if they will have a significant impact on the current fight against the Ebola virus. Another issue is the fact that the effect that these drugs will have on patients are little known and they are to be administered in a setting that lacks the controls of a laboratory testing environment.

One of the drugs that was at the forefront of this debate is ZMapp, which is produced at the Mapp Biopharmaceutical laboratory in the United States. This drug was used to treat missionaries from the United States and Spain and it has shown potential to be an effective remedy. However, the supply of the drug is limited and the drug’s producer claims that the supply has already been exhausted. The lab is in the process of trying to increase production of the drug in order to meet the demand.

Approximately 1,000 doses of the experimental drug ZMapp have already been sent to countries that are battling the disease and health officials are looking into the use of other experimental drugs. The Canadian government also plans to provide between 800 and 1,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine to be distributed through services provided by the WHO.

In the almost 40-year history of the Ebola virus, there have been 15 outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa and there is still no recognized treatment method. Researchers are currently working on a variety of experimental treatments, but the going is slow due to a lack of funding. The current outbreak has inspired some governments to increase research funding, but with only experimental drugs being available, this funding comes much too late for those suffering from the current outbreak.

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