‘The Whole Country Will Be Transformed’

Source : TODAY, 20 Aug 2007

HUNDREDS of thousands of homes — from ageing and middle-aged flats, to private homes and even the sluggish Punggol 21 development — are up for a fresh lease of life, as the Prime Minister unveiled a slew of upgrading initiatives aimed at boosting Singaporeans’ asset values.

Reiterating the Government’s promise to upgrade flats and estates when it has the surpluses to, Mr Lee Hsien Loong said: “We will remake the whole country. It will take us 20 or 30 years but eventually, the whole country will be transformed.”

One old neighbourhood getting a completely new face is Dawson Estate in Queenstown. The mammoth plan is to build some 10,000 HDB and private units — designed by award-winning architects — in an area that includes three HDB precincts and the Alexandra Canal, which will be turned into a linear park.

At the same time, landmarks like the old town centre square and the old Commonwealth Avenue wet market will be preserved, for “a sense of history and place” as well as character, Mr Lee said.

At the other end of the scale, the Punggol 21 development — which saw a slow-down due to the financial crisis upon its launch in 1998 — will be brought back on track, with bonus features.

The upgraded Punggol 21+ plan will include a big water feature created by damming Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon, providing river views and water activities. A town centre will also be developed by the waterfront, as will rooftop gardens, al-fresco dining and even a floating island.

Punggol 21+, an enclave of some 18,000 units, will be “the face of the new Singapore” — with fun and buzz, said Mr Lee.

















NEW SHINE FOR MORE FLATS At least 360,000 flats are being lined up for two new upgrading programmes.

Interim Upgrading will be replaced with Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), which will combine two or more precincts for better planning, and include “non-standard” items such as skate parks. Residents get to decide what they want through, say, a town hall meet.

Main Upgrading will make way for Home Improvement Programme (HIP), which will include toilet upgrading, fixing spalling concrete and the replacement of entrance doors and grille gates.

This will be extended to 100,000 flats built up to 1980, but also another 200,000 flats built between 1981 and 1986 — starting with Yishun and Tampines precincts — which will also enjoy the NRP.

Another 60,000 flats built between 1987 and 1989 will get the NRP

Meanwhile, private estates, which have professed to feeling “neglected”, will come under a “big bang” upgrading programme, and be allowed to dip into Community Improvement Projects Committee funds — now limited to HDB precincts — for upgrading works.

Mr Lee summed up: “No other city in the world can do this: Public housing that is attractive, affordable, appealing, that gives a quality home for every citizen and … an asset which will appreciate in value and help to provide for your old age. In Singapore, we can do it.”

CPF Savings Rate Raised

Source : TODAY, 20 Aug 2007

Interest hiked by 1 percentage point for up to $60,000, in move targeted at lower, middle income

OVER the past eight years, interest rates on your Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings have not budged. Now, your returns are finally going up.

For the first time, the rate hike — of 1 percentage point — is not prompted by movements in commercial deposit rates, but by Singapore’s growing retirement needs.

“Our main focus should be to help the lower- and middle-income groups … people who don’t have so much money in the CPF,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last night, spelling out a move that will cost the Government $700 million a year initially.

Just how targeted is the approach?

Look at the cap on the amount of CPF savings that will enjoy the higher rates, said Mr Vasu Menon, chief editor of online bank finatiQ.com. “This is very targeted at CPF monies dedicated for retirement planning and clearly aimed at the masses,” he added.

Only the first $20,000 in the Ordinary Account (OA) will receive 3.5-per-cent annual interest; the remaining OA will continue yielding 2.5 per cent. In total, the CPF Board will pay higher rates on a maximum of $60,000 in your combined CPF accounts, that is, OA plus Special, Medisave and Retirement accounts. Currently, CPF pays 4 per cent interest for the non-OA accounts.

“If you have more than $60,000, you should be able to take care of yourself,” Mr Lee said to laughter from the audience, adding that such members can use the money to invest.

Lauding the move, Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, said there is a growing number of Singaporeans who are not able to meet the minimum sum requirement — now set at $99,600 — and higher returns would mean more having a higher balance when allowed to withdraw their CPF at age 55.

As the latest changes are aimed at bolstering the retirement kitty, the monies earning the higher interest cannot be used for investment purposes; only for housing or medical expenses, said Mr Lee. He added that there would be no change to the concessionary HDB loan rate formula, which is pegged at 0.1 percentage point above the OA rate.

However, Mr Leong felt that more would have to be done to help the poor because most of their CPF is tied up in mortgages, leaving little in the system to collect interest anyway.

The current rates have been in place since July 1999, when the CPF Board cut them from the all-time highs of 4.41 per cent for the OA and 5.91 per cent for the Special Account, due to a new formula and a drop in the local lenders’ interest rates.

Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen will deliver a ministerial statement on the CPF changes in Parliament next month.

The changes

More than half of active CPF members will enjoy the 1-percentage-point hike on all their account balances.

For example, a 21-year-old male whose first job makes $1,700 monthly, and who buys a four-room flat, will earn an extra $20,000 at age 55. That is a quarter more than before.

The Wait Will Get Longer For Monthly CPF Payouts

Source : TODAY, 20 Aug 2007

HE knows the plan is “not so popular” with Singaporeans.

But with more working and living longer, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong feels it is imperative to raise the age at which retirees start receiving monthly payouts from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board.

At present, members begin drawing down their minimum sum when they reach 62. The arrangement typically lasts 20 years.

Starting 2012, however, the draw-down age will rise progressively to hit 65 by 2018. The aim is for CPF savings — which will also collect more interest — to last until a member’s 85th birthday.

“It’s a good thing because life expectancy is going up,” said finatiQ.com’s chief editor Vasu Menon.

The average life expectancy is 80 years now, compared to 61 in 1957.

Mr Lee said the delay works in tandem with the hike in CPF savings rate and the compulsory annuity scheme, which will together bolster retirement savings for an ageing population.

To help workers in their 50s — the group that will feel the impact first — cope, the Government will inject a one-off bonus interest into their CPF Retirement Accounts. It will also grant a bonus to those aged 58 or older, who are not affected, yet volunteer to defer their draw-down age.

The sweeteners will help counter initial psychological resistance to the draw-down delay. Said Mr Menon: “They’re doing it in a graduated fashion to allow people time to adjust and to accept it.” — Christie Loh

Doctor Can Tender For Unit

Source : TODAY, 20 Aug 2007

HDB unable to offer direct allocation for new sites

Letter from Ng Leong Keng
Deputy Director (Policy & Planning) for Director (Properties & Land) Housing & Development Board (HDB)

I refer to the letter “Clinic is part of our community, not just a business” (Aug 14) by Mr Francis Hong.

Under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) for Dover Road Estate announced in July 2004, 22 rental shops, two rental eating houses and the flats in the area would be cleared by 2010.

Mr Hong appealed to the HDB to allocate a shop unit at the new site to a family doctor affected by the clearance, so that he can move together with the residents. There are two clusters of precinct shops nearby for the Sers replacement site at Dover Crescent. The HDB has built six shops, one eating house and one supermarket at this site.

To ensure that residents can obtain basic services nearby, at least one of the shops will be intended for clinic use.

Given the reduced number of shop units at the replacement site, the HDB is unable to offer direct allocation of a new shop unit to the particular clinic as suggested by the writer.

For tenants affected by the clearance, the HDB has adopted the tender system to allocate the shop units. Existing tenants, including the affected clinics, will enjoy a rental discount of 10 per cent if their bids for the new shops at Dover Crescent or other HDB shops are successful.

In addition, eligible tenants will also receive an ex-gratia payment. We note that the tenant of one of the affected clinics has already successfully tendered for a unit nearby at Tanglin Halt Road.

As for Blk 28 in Dover Crescent mentioned by Mr Hong, it was affected by the clearance in 1997. The HDB could directly allocate shops to the affected tenants then, as there were sufficient units available to cater to the majority of tenants.

Since 1998, the HDB has been providing a smaller number of shops at replacement sites, to achieve a more optimal balance in the number of shops to cater to residents’ needs.

For shop tenants affected by clearances since 1998, the HDB no longer offers a direct allocation of a shop unit. We thank Mr Hong for his feedback.

Big Plus For Punggol Residents

Source : The Straits Times, 20 Aug 2007

HOUSING Board (HDB) blocks rise up along the banks of a pristine waterway, amidst greenery, jogging tracks and al-fresco restaurants.

Welcome to Punggol 21+, which will turn the coastal suburb of Punggol into the inspiration for future HDB towns.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s interactive visuals had his audience of around 3,000 responding with cheers and applause.

They ooh-ed and aah-ed at the vision of new water features, promenades and HDB homes with terrific views.

‘I’m not selling them yet,’ Mr Lee said with a laugh.

Along with the new, something from the past may return too - Punggol chilli crab, on the menu of the open-air eateries to come.

Wowed by all he saw, civil servant and Punggol resident Melvin Yong, 35, said: ‘I could really see the ‘plus’ in the plan.’

Mr Lee also highlighted plans for ongoing improvements to revitalise several other towns and estates.

‘No other city in the world can do this,’ he said. ‘Public housing that’s attractive, that’s affordable, that’s appealing, that gives a quality home for every citizen and gives you an asset which will appreciate in value and also help to provide for your old age.’

But Singapore will do it systematically.

‘We will remake the whole city. It will take us 20, 30 years but eventually, the whole country will be transformed. And this is what Singaporeans will call home.’
LYNN LEE