Cost of living a global issue, so Singaporeans get extra help in Budget: PM Wong to Aljunied seniors
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PM Lawrence Wong with members of the Kampong Serangoon Digital Band at the inaugural Seniors' Connect at Kovan Hub on March 23.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE – Cost-of-living pressures are a global issue and the extra help for Singaporeans in the Budget aims to address these concerns, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
“We know cost of living is a big concern for residents, that’s why in this year’s Budget we have rolled out additional measures to help Singaporeans,” he said on March 23 on his first visit to Aljunied GRC since taking over the country’s top job.
PM Wong noted that every country is facing cost pressures.
“But at least here in Singapore, we can work together. We can provide some help for Singaporeans, and we can all overcome our challenges and work towards a better future,” he said.
PM Wong was speaking at a community event for seniors at Kovan Hub. He has been visiting different constituencies, including Hong Kah North and Tampines.
The Prime Minister’s visit to Aljunied GRC is his second to an opposition-held constituency since the release of the new electoral map on March 11. On March 16, he was in Sengkang for a community event for young families in Anchorvale.
In Kovan, he was joined by grassroots advisers for Aljunied GRC and the single seat of Hougang – Ms Chan Hui Yuh, Mr Alex Yeo, Mr Victor Lye, Mr Chua Eng Leong, Mr Shamsul Kamar and Mr Marshall Lim. Mr Lim is also the People’s Action Party’s Hougang branch chairman.
Speaking to seniors at the event, PM Wong detailed the amount of money they will get under this year’s Budget.
Senior couples above 60 will get a total of $2,400 in CDC and SG60 vouchers, he said. This is because a husband and wife will each get $800 in SG60 vouchers. Each household will also get $800 in CDC vouchers, which will be distributed in May 2025 and January 2026.
“We hope this will at least provide some help for your cost of living,” he added.
During the event to promote digital literacy among seniors and encourage them to remain active through sports, PM Wong presented prizes to families that won a photo contest, and penned a wish for a time capsule commemorating SG60.
Residents contributed 60 items of national, cultural or local significance to the time capsule.
PM Lawrence Wong (centre), with (from left) Mr Marshall Lim, Mr Victor Lye, Mr Alex Yeo, Mr Chua Eng Leong, Mr Shamsul Kamar and Ms Chan Hui Yuh, launching the SG60 time capsule at the inaugural Seniors’ Connect at Kovan Hub.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Ms Chan, who chairs the PAP’s Serangoon branch, also encouraged seniors to join digital clubs to pick up digital skills such as surfing the web. These clubs are a free initiative under the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Digital For Life movement.
They can be found in 40 community clubs, and the various digital clubs have more than 3,000 members, she added.
The PAP’s recently appointed Aljunied branch chairpersons
Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC were won by the opposition Workers’ Party at the last election.
After the March 23 event, PM Wong and Ms Chan spent about an hour greeting and taking photos with residents and stallholders at coffee shops and HDB shops in Serangoon North.
Serangoon resident David Choi, 45, and his 80-year-old mother were among those who interacted with PM Wong at a coffee shop.
Mr Choi, a Singapore Armed Forces regular, said he was satisfied with the measures rolled out in the 2025 Budget. The CDC and SG60 vouchers will help his retired mother with cost-of-living expenses such as groceries, he added.
