Employment-based Social Protection in Singapore: Issues and Prospects

The social protection system in Singapore can be defined in terms of having the ability and opportunity to work for a family wage for at least thirty years in order to own a house, provide adequate healthcare protection for the family, pay for children's education as well as provide a stream of income during the post-employment period. Singapore's protection system is superior in many ways but there are deficiencies. For instance, any discontinuity in employment or breakup of the family will threaten this social protection system. Furthermore, some low-income workers have to continue to work even in their seventies. The paper makes some recommendations for the improvement of the social protection system in Singapore.