Written reply to PQ on capture of data based on retiree, disabled persons and single-parent households, and on housing categories despite change in government's income trends report

Question:

Ms Elysa Chen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry regarding changes to the Government's annual household income trends report (a) whether disaggregated market income statistics can be provided by households with retirees, disabled persons, single-parent households and different housing categories; (b) whether the widened scope of analysis to cover all resident households will lead to vulnerable groups being statistically obscured; and (c) if so, what safeguards are there to prevent this.

Written Answer by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong

1.           The changes to the KHIT report were made partly in response to Singapore’s changing demographics. With our ageing population, there is a growing proportion of retiree households who do not have employment income, but may have income from non-employment sources such as annuities (including from CPF), rental, investments and regular allowances from their children. Expanding the household income definition and household coverage thus ensures a more complete representation of resident households and their income trends. Notably, the report now covers resident households comprising solely of non-employed persons aged 65 and over. This accounted for 49.3% of residents in the lowest income decile. The inclusion of these retiree households enables the Government to better understand the financial resources available to them and provide targeted support where necessary.

2.           Disaggregated household market income data for retiree households comprising solely of non-employed persons aged 65 and over is available and published on DOS’ website. However, market income data for lone-parent households and households with at least one member with difficulty performing basic activities are not available annually, but are reported in the Census and General Household Survey conducted every five years.