How Much Annual Income . Need for S Family of Seven
- A report has institute that parents with ii children aged two to 12 will need to each earn $2,906 a calendar month to encounter a basic standard of living
- For a couple with ii children anile seven to 18, they will demand at least S$vi,426 a month to meet their household's basic needs
- A single parent living with a young child will need at least S$3,218 a calendar month
- The Ministry building of Finance has criticised the study, done by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
- It said the findings may not be cogitating of the circumstances of lower-income families
SINGAPORE — A study past a team of researchers has suggested that for households to reach the incomes they need for a bones standard of living, working parents with two children aged 2 to 12 volition need to each earn $2,906 a month.
The report, titled What People Need in Singapore: A Household Budgets Study, likewise deduced that married couples with two children aged seven to 18 volition need at least S$6,426 a month to meet their household's bones needs.
For a unmarried parent with a young child aged two to half dozen, they will need at to the lowest degree South$3,218 a month to meet theirs.
The study was done by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) at the National University of Singapore (NUS),
Acquaintance Professor Teo Yous Yenn, part of the half-dozen-person research team, said that the written report defined a basic standard of living as having nutrient, wearable and housing but also more than just these.
The sociologist from the School of Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University said that it is as well about having opportunities for pedagogy, employment and work-life residue, likewise as admission to healthcare.
Dr Ng Kok Hoe, a research fellow from LKYSPP, said during an online presentation on the findings to the public that he hopes policymakers will accept the findings into "serious consideration" when they are formulating policies.
However, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement after the written report's release that the conclusions "may not be an accurate reflection" of basic needs largely due to assumptions used.
"Anyone reading the LKYSPP report should carry in mind the limitations of the arroyo used," it said.
The 80-folio study, which is available online at whatsenough.sg, sought to determine the household budgets required for a basic standard of living by adopting the minimum income standards approach.
This inquiry methodology allows the researchers to speak in depth to members of the public and ask them to agree on the goods and services needed by a household, considering its size, the age of its household members and other factors.
The report, which started final year and took around 18 months to complete, involved a total of 196 participants who took part in 24 focus groups, with an average of eight persons in each group.
About 19 per cent of the respondents had at least a secondary school education or beneath, while 81 per cent had gone through post-secondary studies.
In terms of housing, 18 per cent of the participants lived in rental flats, 66 per cent lived in their ain authorities-built flat and 15 per cent lived in private property.
The researchers said in the report: "Nosotros ensured that participants were diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background."
Aside from Assoc Prof Teo and Dr Ng, other members of the enquiry team included:
-
Dr Neo Yu Wei from the Social Service Research Centre with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in NUS
-
Dr Advertizement Maulod from the Centre for Ageing Enquiry and Education in Duke-NUS Medical School
-
Dr Stephanie Chok, an contained researcher
-
Ms Wong Yee Lok, a research acquaintance with LKYSPP
The researchers concluding collaborated together on a similar study in 2019 focusing on elders.
It institute then that a Singaporean senior citizen aged 65 and in a higher place and who was living alone needs about S$ane,379 a calendar month to meet bones standards of living.
This amount has been updated to S$1,421 in the latest study to factor in inflation, Dr Ng said.
Assoc Prof Teo, who also spoke at the presentation and is author of the volume, This Is What Inequality Looks Like, said that when someone has a basic standard of living, information technology enables "a sense of belonging, respect, security and independence".
It gives the person choices when taking function in social activities, and the freedom to engage in ane's cultural and religious practices, she added.
GAPS IN Coming together NEEDS
Dr Ng pointed out, though, that there is a "huge wage inequality" in the labour market that could preclude a sizeable demographic from achieving this basic standard.
For example, the national median monthly income of a Singaporean worker in 2020 was S$4,534, which exceeds what is needed for basic necessities.
Yet, the national median monthly income for cleaners, labourers and related manual workers was at around S$1,535, which is less than half of what is needed for their bones needs, Dr Ng said.
In contrast, the median earners in services and sales earned 73 per cent of what is needed for basic necessities, at around South$2,345, while managers and administrators earned more than three times, at around South$ten,000.
Taking household size into account, the report plant that both households types — married couples with two children or a unmarried parent with one child — need effectually South$1,600 for each household member every month to meet their bones needs.
Yet, compared to the income distribution in the general population, S$ane,600 comes shut to South$1,609, which was concluding twelvemonth'south boilerplate monthly work income per household member for the tertiary decile group — the lower-income families — based on data from the Singapore Department of Statistics.
In other words, effectually thirty per cent of working households in Singapore earn less than what they require for a bones standard of living — if they are a single parent with i kid aged two to 6, or a couple with 2 children, one anile seven to 12 and the other anile 13 to 18.
"This is a substantial and concerning proportion," the researchers said.
And amidst their basic needs are having admission to public services such as housing (rent and purchase), healthcare, education and childcare — monthly costs that the researchers said accounted for a significant proportion of any household's budget.
It amounts to about thirty per cent of a married couple's budget, and about 40 per cent for a single parent, Dr Ng said.
He suggested that the country could play a greater role in providing and financing these services to "lighten the brunt on individual households".
If housing, healthcare, education and childcare are removed, the monthly budgets required for a basic standard of living falls to below S$2,000 for single-parent families, and around South$4,006 for married couples with children.
"A lot does go towards individual households paying for these bones public services," he said.
The researchers noted that many financial assistance schemes provided by the Government are means-tested and then, there are income limits on who qualifies. Even if applicants authorize, the aid is insufficient, Dr Ng added.
Back up FOR Low-INCOME EARNERS
In its criticism of the study, MOF said that the minimum income standards methodology used is highly dependent on group dynamics and the profile of the participants.
With most participants having post-secondary education and 15 per cent living in private properties, the findings expressed may not exist reflective of the circumstances of the lower-income families.
For instance, discretionary expenditure items such as private enrichment classes, jewellery, perfumes and overseas holidays were included in the estimates.
The report did non take into business relationship alternatives such equally pupil care centres run by the Ministry of Teaching and the various self-help groups, which provide enrichment classes for individuals who need them at depression toll.
On the study'south suggestion that around Due south$1,600 for each household member is needed a month for basic needs, MOF said that this figure is closer to what an boilerplate household spends, based on the Household Expenditure Survey 2017/eighteen washed past the Singapore Department of Statistics.
Based on the household characteristics in 2017 and 2018, the average monthly spending for households with young children is around S$6,600 for each household and S$1,520 for each member.
"This means that (the S$i,600 proposed by the study) is in excess of bones needs for an average household," MOF added.
The ministry added that there are errors in certain assumptions, which under-state the amount of regime subsidies and fiscal support received by low-income families.
"The amounts reflected in the study are what the median earner receives, non low-income families."
For instance, a low-income household can receive upwards to S$eighty,000 under the Enhanced Housing Grant for a new flat, more than the Southward$15,000 received by a household with two median-income earners.
The report did offer an actress data point on the expectations and aspirations of Singaporeans, which volition continue to evolve over time, MOF noted.
It added that the Government is "sensitive to these shifts and regularly reviews its scope and coverage of assistance to "ensure it is relevant and adequate".
For instance, it doubled social spending from Due south$17 billion in the fiscal year 2010, to S$31 billion in the financial twelvemonth 2019.
Announcements were too made during the National Solar day Rally in August to enhance the pay of low-wage workers.
Some of the recommendations announced during the rally included extending the Progressive Wage Model to more workers and sectors, and requiring firms that hire foreign workers to pay all their Singapore employees at least S$1,400 a month.
A 'LIVING WAGE' UP FOR DISCUSSION
During the presentation on Fri, Dr Ng acknowledged and welcomed these moves by the Government, merely his point was that these advancements have been dull.
Since the wage model was introduced in 2012, there had already been many calls for information technology to be extended to workers in more sectors.
He said that if this had been done earlier, depression-income workers would have congenital up income buffers before the Covid-19 pandemic started and these would take "helped to salve some households' livelihoods"
As for the S$2,906 monthly income for a parent with two children, the researchers said that it provides a starting indicate and a reasonable target for considering a living wage for Singapore.
"Any living wage, since it is a single wage level that applies to all workers regardless of what households they live in, volition produce household incomes that are more than what some households need, for example, the smaller households, and less than what others require, for instance, the larger households or those with special needs.
"The exact assumptions and compromises that are adequate when determining a living wage is a matter for public deliberation. For Singapore, such deliberations may eventually upshot in a dissimilar figure from the one presented here in the written report, particularly if more data on the distribution of household types become available," they added.
comptonperesperess1938.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/parents-2-children-need-earn-about-s5800-6400-monthly-basic-standard-living-study