Cost of living, support for large families among concerns raised by MPs during Budget 2025 debate

Members of Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 26) extensively discussed the Government's plans to address the rising cost of living by disbursing more Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers among other schemes.

They also voiced support for measures to help elderly Singaporeans and initiatives to encourage families to have more children, but called for the Government to provide more than just financial help.

The Budget debate kicked off on Wednesday and will last until Friday. In all, 54 MPs are expected to speak before Prime Minister Lawrence Wong wraps up the debate.

In his Budget speech on Feb 18, PM Wong, who is also the Finance Minister, said that the measures ensure that "no one will be left behind", and will tackle immediate challenges while laying the groundwork for the future.

A total of 28 MPs and Nominated MPs spoke on Wednesday in a debate that lasted around eight hours.

Cost of living concerns

Among the concerns raised by MPs about cost of living, several highlighted the $800 in CDC vouchers for Singaporean households.

The first $500 will be disbursed in May 2025, and the remaining $300 will be disbursed in January 2026.

All Singaporeans aged 21 and above will also receive $600 in SG60 vouchers, while seniors aged 60 and above will get $800.

The announcement drew mixed reactions online. Some voiced their preference for cash over vouchers, while others felt that the amount is insufficient to cope with their monthly expenses.

MP Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten SMC) called on the Government to review its policies to address cost of living concerns.

"Whenever I speak to my residents, they complain about the rising costs each time they go to the market or to the hawker centre," he said. "This is despite the fact that over the past few years, the Government has been giving CDC vouchers and outright cash payouts through the Assurance Package.

"For residents and middle-income (Singaporeans), they simply had to tighten their belts as they get much less help from the Government schemes."

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Hazel Poa, meanwhile, described the CDC and SG60 vouchers as "ad-hoc benefits" dependent on the availability of surplus tax revenues and at the discretion of the government of the day.

"It will be unhealthy if Singaporeans become increasingly reliant on these gifts to manage their rising costs," she said.

NCMP Poa said that instead of the "band-aid approach", the Progress Singapore Party has proposed "systemic and structural" measures to reduce the cost of living.

She suggested lowering the cost of HDB flats and introducing fixed rent for hawkers.

Kicking off the debate on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh reiterated his party's criticism of the goods and services tax hikes in 2023 and 2024.

He questioned if the hikes were necessary, given the government's "exceedingly healthy" fiscal position.

"We have seen Assurance packages and CDC vouchers dished out to cushion the GST blow for many Singaporeans but when these handouts stop, as they eventually will, the nine per cent GST will remain, until any subsequent increase the PAP Government sees fit to impose," he added.

Encouraging couples to have more children

While several MPs welcomed the scheme for large families, where there will be up to $16,000 in additional support for each third and subsequent child born on or after Feb 16, some said more help can be given.

In his speech, MP Lim said that he supports the scheme, but added that the government must "go back to the drawing board" to ask why many couples are not even having children in the first place.

"I personally think that Singaporeans lead too stressful a life," he said, adding that the long work hours lead to couples feeling burned out.

MP Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) suggested bringing back larger HDB flat formats with more than three bedrooms.

"This will be important if we want families to have more children," he said.

In his speech, MP Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) said that many of these large families are part of a "sandwich" class who need to take care of their elderly parents.

"In our endeavours to push for a higher fertility rate, we must continue to incentivise, reward and support them," he added.

Besides financial help, MP Gan asked for the Government to commit to more support for large families, such as providing them with reserve allocations, higher priority, and grants for bigger HDB flats, with a quantum correlated to the number of children they have.

More help for seniors and caregivers

During his Budget speech, PM Wong announced the Government will match every dollar of voluntary cash top-up to the MediSave accounts of eligible seniors aged 55 to 70, capped at $1,000 per year.

Seniors living in private properties will also receive subsidies to outfit their homes with age-friendly features under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) programme - previously limited for HDB dwellers.

Several MPs wanted more to be done for seniors beyond financial help.

MP Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang SMC) proposed rewarding companies with public recognition and tax incentives if they keep seniors employed as long as they choose to continue working.

This is through measures such as flexible work, job-sharing and phased retirement, he said.

MP Yip also asked for a special fund to prioritise direct lift access in older estates.

"The Lift access Housing Grant sounds good on paper, but in reality, moving is expensive and disruptive," he said. "For many, it means leaving behind a home filled with decades of memories."

MP Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) said that the Ease programme for private property owners is "encouraging", and asked for senior-friendly upgrading work to all private estates.

Several MPs also proposed measures for caregivers amid a "super-aged" society.

MP Ang Wei Neng (West Coast GRC) suggested that the Ministry of Social and Family Development provide a quarterly grant of $200 to caregivers who hold a Blue Chas card, "similar to the Silver Support Scheme".

"I know first-hand that caring for the persons with special needs is a lifelong mission. It is not easy," he said.

MP Pereira said that help for caregivers should go beyond tax reliefs, such as subsidies for long-term care services and adult diapers.

The Budget debate resumes on Thursday.

For more on Budget 2025, visit our microsite.

chingshijie@asiaone.com

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