IPS Update Issue July 2019

IPS recently released the IPS Exchange Series No. 13, titled Leaving Well: End-of-Life Policies in Singapore. Watch this short clip for a brief introduction to the project.

A link to the paper can be found in the sections below.

Report — Ground-Up Efforts at Community Development in Singapore
• 4-min read

What is community development, and what does a strong community look like? What is the role of an organisation invested in community development, and do the arts have a place in its work? In collaboration with the Singapore University of Social Sciences, IPS presented two case studies on two organisations, Beyond Social Services and ArtsWok Collaborative, and their innovative approaches to community development.

In Singapore, the government block-funds organisations to deliver disability services, with means-tested subsidies for individuals who cannot afford them. Meanwhile, the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme provides a personalised budget to disabled individuals to pay for services of their choice, regardless of financial status. Would this work in Singapore? 

Following an IPS study commissioned by MCCY, the IPS-MCCY Sharing City Workshop brought together policymakers, innovators and researchers to discuss developments in the sharing economy, the potential of sharing initiatives to build community, and implications for Singapore.

IPS researchers Damien Huang and Christopher Gee released a policy brief which recommended that CPF contribution rates for older workers be restored to 37 per cent, on par with younger workers. In this commentary, they raise three reasons why.
Scroll down for the policy brief.

In the context of Singapore’s current multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, how do Malay youth understand themselves as members of their ethnic group? This discussion brought together different stakeholders working with the Malay-Muslim community to discuss preliminary findings of a recently concluded study on what influences Malay youth identity formation today.

This policy brief considers the effect of CPF contribution rates on older Singaporean workers’ retirement adequacy. It quantifies the effect of restoring CPF contribution rates for employees aged 55-64 years on (i) employees’ retirement income adequacy, (ii) employers’ wage bills, and (iii) the additional interest payable by the CPF Board. It recommends that CPF contribution rates be increased to encourage older workers to remain employed and to improve their retirement adequacy.

Discussing and stating our preferences for end-of-life care and death is uncomfortable but necessary, and best done before a serious prognosis or sudden catastrophic accident. We know that there are over 200,000 Singapore residents currently aged 75 and above, but really, this applies to anyone at any age. In IPS Exchange Series No. 13, IPS researchers present what is needed to help Singaporeans to live and die well, and in accordance to their preferences.