Dear The Real Singapore,
I hope that more Singaporeans will be enlightened after reading “The dirty CPF-HDB scheme to trick Singaporeans”. The CPF scheme is an epic failure and re-designed to create and support high housing prices. The PAP constantly tweaks the CPF policy to mask it public housing failure.
Constituents living in opposition wards must demand that their MPs highlight the CPF issue in parliament. There are too many questions concerning the lack of transparency, an increasing amount in the Medisave Account disallowed for medical needs and health insurance, etc.
As the biggest land owner and developer, the PAP benefits from high property prices. Initially, the PAP maintained high property prices by allowing the unlimited use of CPF funds for housing and subsequently imported foreigners by the planeloads daily.
Shortsighted politicians trumpeted our public housing ‘success’ (expensive) and called this asset enhancement. Belatedly when they somehow realised retirement funds were insufficient, the CPF policy was tweaked to allow only 120% from 1 Jan 2008.
Market rental rates, not HDB’s, determine if public housing is really affordable. Clearly, the average family cannot afford to rent even a basic 3-rm HDB flat. So there is really no choice but to buy one using the maximum amount of retirement savings.
But in most cases, buying even a basic 3-rm resale flat means exhausting the CPF Ordinary Account and using the entire monthly contribution for mortgage installments. In other countries, retirement savings is for retirement. Period. Any responsible government should not continue to allow the CPF/HDB scheme to mask the issue of unaffordable housing prices.
Public housing flats also do not belong to citizens but are on a 99 year lease. When we use our CPF funds for mortgage installments, we should view this as paying rent (very long term agreement) to the government.
Phillip Ang
TRS Contributor