Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will deliver the 2025 Budget statement at 3.30pm tomorrow (Feb 18) in Parliament.
The PAP Government has always sought to manage Singapore’s national budget prudently. This helps us better the lives of Singaporeans, address the nation’s current and future needs while maintaining the sustainability of our financial position.
Over the years, the Budget speech has been a platform to introduce policies such as the Workfare Scheme and Jobs Support Scheme, initiatives that balance economic restructuring and competitiveness with helping Singaporeans lead better and more fulfilling lives.
Recent budgets have also emphasised cost-of-living relief measures, as well as supporting Singaporeans in transitioning to the digital economy.
Here are five major policies that the PAP government has adopted in recent years that have benefitted Singaporeans:
- Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme
As our economy progresses, it is important to ensure that no one is left behind.
Introduced in 2007, the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme is a broad-based measure that tops up the salaries of lower-income Singaporean workers to help them save for retirement. It targets workers whose earnings are in the bottom 20 percent, with some support for those slightly above.
As explained by then-Minister of Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam in Parliament, the scheme achieves three objectives. First, workers contribute less to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts, increasing their take-home pay. Second, employers contribute less to CPF, making workers more employable. Third, the Government provides Workfare income supplements, mainly into workers’ CPF accounts, to help them build up their savings.
The scheme provides higher payments to older workers and persons with disabilities.
Mr Tharman described the WIS as a long-term feature of our social security system — the fourth pillar.
“The WIS scheme is a major policy change. For the first time, the state will be supplementing the market wages that low wage workers receive,” he said. “We have decided to make this change to help low-wage workers and encourage them to stay employed. This will strengthen social inclusion in Singapore.”
In 2024, the scheme was enhanced for lower-wage senior workers. The maximum annual payout was raised from $4,200 to $4,900, with increments across all age bands. Additionally, the qualifying income cap increased from $2,500 to $3,000. For 2025, the government will further raise the wage ceiling for co-funding eligibility to $3,000.
- CDC vouchers to support S’porean households
First introduced in the 2021 Budget, Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers have been warmly embraced by Singaporeans. It has directly helped Singapore households cope with the cost of living.
Aimed at supporting neighbourhood shops, the first tranche of $100 worth of CDC vouchers was delivered to all Singaporean households in Dec 2021 to be used at participating heartland shops and hawker centres.
Then Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said the initiative was introduced to “thank Singaporeans for their solidarity, and to support our heartland businesses and hawkers”.
Some 1.3 million Singaporean households benefitted from the scheme, which also provided strong financial support to local businesses bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the scheme was enhanced, with all households receiving two tranches of $200 CDC vouchers in 2023 and 2024. The vouchers could be used at major supermarkets.
This formed part of the Assurance Package to help cushion the impact of the GST increase.
In Budget 2023, then Finance Minister Lawrence Wong further increased the CDC vouchers by $100 in 2024. Subsequently, to lessen the impact of global inflation, Budget 2024 provided an additional $600 in CDC vouchers for all Singaporean households, with $300 disbursed in June 2024 and the remaining in January 2025.
DPM Wong announced an additional $600 in CDC Vouchers for all Singaporean households. The first $300 was disbursed in end-June 2024 while the remaining $300 was disbursed in January 2025.
- Reskilling workers to be future-ready with SkillsFuture programme
In an era of disruption, continual learning is necessary. The government introduced the SkillsFuture Credit in 2015 to help Singaporeans upskill at every age. This initiative reflects the PAP Government’s ongoing commitment to equipping companies and workers with the necessary skills for the future amid rapid technological advancements.
Initially, in 2016, Singaporeans aged 25 and above received a $500 credit, which could be utilised for government-approved courses across at least 57 areas. In 2020, they received a one-time $500 top-up.
To further enhance the SkillsFuture initiative, in 2024, Singaporeans aged 40 and above will benefit from a new programme that includes a $4,000 top-up in credits, specifically for selected training programmes.
Additionally, starting from the 2025 academic year, the government will provide subsidies for Singaporeans aged 40 and above to pursue another full-time diploma at polytechnics, Institutes of Technical Education, and arts institutions.
Moreover, Singaporeans aged 40 and above enrolling in selected full-time courses will receive monthly training allowances. The allowance will be equivalent to 50 percent of the individual’s average income over the latest available 12-month period, capped at $3,000 per month. Each individual can receive up to 24 months of training allowance throughout their lifetime.
- Jobs Support Scheme helped workers retain their jobs during the pandemic
The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) was first introduced in the Unity Budget in February 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic began. It provided wage support for employers to retain their local employees -Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents – during economic uncertainty.
Under the JSS, the Government co-funded a portion of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each local employee until March 2021. All active employees, except Government organisations and representative offices, were eligible.
Then-Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said that with over 1.9 million local employees in Singapore, the JSS would cost the Government $1.3 billion and benefit all enterprises and their local employees.
In Budget 2021, the JSS was extended for up to six months for firms in aviation, aerospace, and tourism, which had been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Singaporeans working in retail, arts and culture, food services, and the built environment were also covered.
While subsidies were based on a percentage of employees’ monthly wages, employers could allocate the subsidies as necessary to keep the business running and retain employees.
- Strengthening families through ComLink+ Progress and parenthood initiatives
Strong families form the bedrock of a strong society.
In Budget 2024, then DPM Wong announced the launch of the new ComLink+ Progress Package. This package aims to provide additional support for lower-income families enrolling their children in pre-schools, remaining employed, and maintaining financial stability while saving up for home ownership. Enrolled families will receive a one-off $500 top-up to their child’s Child Development Account upon enrolling their three-year-old in pre-school. They can also earn financial incentives for achieving long-term goals while working with family coaches.
The government will provide increased support for families, including those with children who have special needs. The maximum monthly fees at special education schools will be reduced from $150 to $90, and fee caps at all special student care centres will also be lowered, reducing out-of-pocket expenses for these families.
Recently, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah announced that expenditure on marriage and parenthood initiatives will increase significantly, rising from over $4 billion in the financial year 2020 to nearly $7 billion in 2026. This substantial increase signals more support for families, with further details expected in the upcoming Budget.
