When the central provident fund system was established in July 1955, it was a compulsory pension savings fund for all salaried employees. Its main purpose is to provide employees with enough savings to rely on when they retire or lose their ability to work. But 40 years later, it has developed into a comprehensive social security system, which can meet people's retirement, housing, medical care and education needs.
First, the medical security system.
Singapore's medical security system can be divided into three parts: compulsory medical savings, social medical insurance and social medical assistance, all of which are managed and implemented by government agencies. Mainly under the leadership of the government, health savings, health insurance and health fund plans are implemented, and the government provides certain medical subsidies to ensure that all citizens can enjoy good medical and health services.
Health savings plan is the main medical insurance plan in Singapore's central provident fund system. It went online in April, 1984, and established a member health savings account. The plan allows members to use the savings in the provident fund health savings account to pay the medical expenses of individual members or immediate family members. According to the health savings plan, provident fund members must deposit part of their provident fund into health savings accounts every month. 1992 also launched a medical savings plan for self-employed, stipulating that all self-employed individuals with an annual income of more than S $2,400 must pay a fixed percentage of their net income as medical savings. According to statistics, more than 220,000 members use the savings in their health savings accounts to pay medical expenses every year.
The dual health insurance plan is a medical insurance plan for critical illness, which was implemented in July. 1990. It allows members to take out insurance with the savings in the health savings account of the provident fund to ensure that members have the ability to pay for serious illness treatment and long-term hospitalization expenses. Except that members do not participate in this kind of medical insurance, they will be automatically deducted from the deposits in the health savings account as premium expenses every year, and about 87% of provident fund members have participated in this insurance. In this way, members can claim up to S $20,000 for medical expenses every year, but not more than S $80,000 for life. By July 2006, the number of people participating in the dual health insurance scheme was as high as 2.75 million, accounting for 76.5% of Singapore's population. About 90% of the workers have taken out dual health insurance or used health savings to pay for medical insurance.
The health fund plan is a medical fund set up by the government for poor citizens. It is the last "safety net" when neither health savings nor health insurance can provide protection. At present, the health care fund is about S $800 million. In 200 1 year, * * 156800 people applied for assistance from the medical care fund, and 99% of them benefited from it.
Second, the old-age security system
Singapore's old-age insurance system is realized through its central provident fund system, which is the most distinctive feature of its social security model. Singapore's old-age security system is mainly a complete accumulation system, which protects employees by means of compulsory savings.
The Singapore government stipulates that after employees reach the age of 55, the personal account structure will be changed from ordinary account, medical savings account and special account to retirement account and medical savings account. Employees who have reached the age of 60 can receive a monthly pension, provided that the statutory minimum deposit must be kept in the individual retirement account.
Starting from 1987, the Singapore government began to implement the minimum provident fund deposit plan, stipulating that when members receive provident fund deposits at the age of 55, they must leave a sum of money in their retirement accounts to protect their old age. 10, this minimum deposit will be raised to S $80,000. Only in this way can we ensure that its members can maintain their basic living standards for several years after retirement when the basic living expenses rise.
Third, the employment security system
The Singapore government has long regarded encouraging employment, assisting employment and ensuring employment as its basic national policy, and made every effort to attract investment, develop the economy, train the workforce and improve the quality of workers. From 2006 54 38+0-2006, the unemployment rate in Singapore was controlled at around 3.5%, and reached 2.7% in the lowest year.
(A) Pay attention to vocational training
In the early 1980s, Singapore began to advocate large-scale mass training programs to provide employees with extensive re-education and retraining. By offering basic education courses for workers, we will mobilize all walks of life and social organizations to participate in this plan and encourage them to start various learning and training courses. Multi-level and multi-category learning and training forms not only ensure the popularization of vocational and technical education, but also ensure the coordination and adaptability between education and economic development.
Carry out vocational rehabilitation programs to promote full employment.
The Vocational Reengineering Scheme is an employment promotion scheme jointly launched by employees, employers and the government in March 2005 with the active promotion of the National Vocational Association of Singapore. By improving the professional image and working conditions of existing jobs, the plan will increase the attractiveness of these jobs to Singaporeans, thus helping Singaporeans facing the threat of unemployment to maintain employment or re-employment. Once the vocational re-engineering scheme was launched, it achieved remarkable results. In 2005, the unemployment rate dropped from 3.4% in 2004 to 3.2%.
Four, the implementation of the "home ownership" housing security system.
The reason why Singapore has successfully solved the housing shortage problem and completed the upgrading of housing from quantity to quality in just a few decades is mainly due to the welfare housing system with the housing provident fund system and the "Home Ownership Scheme" as its two pillars.
(A) the government is the leading force in establishing the housing security system.
1960, the Singapore government established the Housing Development Bureau, which is a statutory body directly under the Ministry of National Development, and is responsible for formulating housing development planning and housing management, as well as housing construction projects, housing sales and rental.
Bank savings loans and provident fund are the main sources of housing funds.
The source of funds for the Home Ownership Scheme mainly comes from two aspects, one is bank savings loans, and the other is the provident fund system, in which the provident fund system plays a very important role. The government forced ordinary people to pay part of their income into the provident fund, which formed a large-scale per capita accumulation, thus enabling the government to build public housing. The government used part of the provident fund reserve to lend to the Housing Development Bureau to develop public housing, enabling the Housing Development Bureau to build public housing on a large scale.
Formulate housing purchase access policies for residents of different levels.
Only low-income people can join the Home Ownership Scheme. At the same time, according to the economic income level of buyers, the purchase policy is formulated. The down payment is different from the repayment amount and repayment method, which can meet the needs of residents with different income levels and ensure affordable housing.
(4) Detailed supporting policies
Singapore's housing security is a model of renting and selling at the same time, which is divided into apartments developed by private developers and welfare apartments organized by the Housing Development Bureau. The government is the main provider of HDB housing. It not only provides mortgage financing loans to residents who meet the conditions of purchasing HDB housing, but also provides additional housing subsidies to low-income families in addition to the prescribed housing subsidies when purchasing the first HDB housing under standard conditions. Whether renting or buying a house, there are extremely strict operating conditions and a complete exit mechanism.