Number of Persons in Different Age Groups Who Have Received Workfare Income Supplement Payouts

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Manpower (a) in the past three years, what is the annual number of persons who have received the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), broken down by age groups of 35 to 40, 41 to 50, 51 to 60, and above 60; and (b) whether a review will be made to further raise the WIS amount to one-third of their monthly gross income.

The Workfare Income Supplement Scheme provides cash supplements and CPF top-ups that encourages eligible lower-income workers to work regularly and build up their CPF savings.  Workfare boosts the incomes of these workers by up to 30 per cent. Payouts are generally higher for older workers. Persons with disabilities below age 35 can also receive Workfare.

From 2017 to 2019, an annual average of about 400,000 employees and self-employed persons received Workfare. About 45,000 were aged 35 to 44, 85,000 were aged 45 to 54, 70,000 were aged 55 to 59 and 195,000 were aged 60 and above. Another 3,000 persons with disabilities below age 35 received Workfare.

Workfare has been regularly reviewed since its launch in 2007. The qualifying income ceiling and payouts have been raised on four occasions. In fact, the maximum Workfare payout was just increased by up to 14 per cent starting from January this year. We will continue to review Workfare regularly to ensure the target groups are supported.