Retirement Financing Dilemmas Facing Singapore

Mukul G. Asher

No 199, Discussion Paper from Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University

Abstract: Singapore's retirement financing arrangements are almost solely based on a mandatory savings pillar administered by the Central Provident Fund (CPF). Over the years, there have been many additional objectives such as housing and healthcare financing, which have also been entrusted to the CPF. Singapore is now an affluent and rapidly aging society. It is also searching for ways to regain competitiveness in the face of globalization and increasing competition from other countries. Even as the need for adequate social security provision is growing, Singapore's strong revealed preference for use of the CPF for socio-economic engineering and for political control are creating many dilemmas. These centre around governance, design of schemes, investment policies, and whether to shift to more appropriate multi-tier system. This paper analyzes the nature of these dilemmas and suggests measures which could assist in addressing them. The paper asserts that the current mono-centric power structure and the strong proclivity to regard even basic socio-economic information as a strategic tool rather than a public good are major constraints in addressing the dilemmas.

Keywords: Singapore; Retirement Financing; Social Security; Pension Funds (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2004-02
Note: International Conference on Pensions in Asia: Incentives, Compliance and Their Role in Retirement, Organised by PIE and COE/RES, Hitotsubashi University, Hitotsubashi Collaboration Center, Tokyo, Japan, 23-24 February 2004
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