Yesterday, in a Parliamentary Question, I asked the Minister for Manpower why the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS) does not cover seniors aged above 70 and whether there are any plans to extend the scheme to cover seniors above 70, especially those who are still working.
Singapore citizens aged between 55 and 70 who live in a property with an Annual Value below $21,000, own only one property, have less than $102,900 in their Retirement Account (RA) and an average monthly income of not more than $4,000 are currently eligible for the MRSS. Under the MRSS, the Government will match every dollar of cash top-ups made to the RA of eligible CPF members, up to $600 per year.
Given that the aim of the scheme is to help senior Singapore Citizens with lower retirement savings build up their retirement savings and boost their monthly payouts in retirement, it is perplexing that the scheme does not extend to those aged above 70, especially those who are still working.
The Minister replied that the Government will be enhancing the MRSS and details will be announced at Budget 2024. I look forward to hearing the proposed enhancements to the scheme and hope that it will include an expansion of the eligibility criteria to cover seniors above 70.