Budget 2025 likely to be generous, offer support to boost social safety nets: Analysts

SUPPORT ACROSS VARIOUS LIFE STAGES

The Finance Ministry is also seeking feedback on how to support Singaporeans across different life stages.

This includes helping young families through their parenthood journey, to seniors ageing well in their homes and community.

Dr Mathew Mathews, principal research fellow at NUS’ Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), said more measures in next year’s Budget need to be directed at the workplace so that employers can adopt more family-friendly measures.

He brought up a new pilot by the Early Childhood Development Agency that was launched last weekend, allowing childminders to offer infant care services at their homes.

Dr Mathews added: “There might be more and more types of arrangements which might be needed so that parents can, with confidence, be able to say: ‘Hey, I’ll have children, and I do recognise that there is a system to be able to take care of them even if I have to commit to my work needs’.”

The ministry is also looking at how to empower those with disabilities and their caregivers.

Dr Mathews said this is a concern, particularly as many of these caregivers are older and have to deal with issues of ageing themselves.

“We do have to see how to pool resources (so that the) community can come in to be able to support these caregivers,” he added.

“Perhaps there’ll be more attempts to top up, or increasingly increase the funds they have for their retirement needs.”