Don’t Withhold The Hay

Source : Weekend TODAY, September 29, 2007

Keep empowering S’poreans at 55

Letter from MOHAMAD ROSLE AHMAD

I DON’T think that “What’s missing in the CPF debate” (Sept 26) is the dichotomy between what Singaporeans expect from the Government and what it is willing to give.

Rather, I think it is the Government’s selective empowerment and disempowerment modus operandi that rile Singaporeans.

When the Government liberalised the use of the Special Account for Central Provident Fund members to invest in low-risk financial instruments, the narrative was to empower them to earn better returns for their future: Go ahead, make as much hay in the sun as you can.

But once Singaporeans reach the age of 55, the disempowerment mode kicks in, from an increasing Minimum Sum to a later retirement age and longevity insurance: Sorry, mate, we worry that you will squander away your hard-earned largesse, so, staggered release and a to-the-grave annuity is the way to go.

Ditto for official exhortations for citizens to be more entrepreneurial and develop a more gung-ho, can-do attitude. Extend that freed spirit with reverent cognizance of those who helped create this Third-to-First World miracle in record time.

At the heart of the annuities debate is the back issue of a person’s money and his right to do what he pleases with it. If 55 is not a mature and responsible age, I do not know what is.