Workfare Income Supplement Employee-recipients by Age Group

Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for Manpower for each year from 2015 to 2017 (a) what is the number of Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) employee-recipients based on the four age groups under WIS; (b) what is the total corresponding expenditure incurred in each year to disburse WIS to the employee group; and (c) what are the considerations taken into account in determining the WIS payout.

Table 1 below shows the number of employees receiving Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) in each of the four WIS age groups, and the total amount of WIS allotted annually for work done in 2015 to 2017.

Table 1: Number of employees receiving WIS and total amount of WIS allotted for work done in 2015 to 20176

WIS is targeted at workers in the bottom 20% by income percentile, with graduated support provided to those up to the 30th income percentile. The amount of WIS an employee receives depends on his age and income. In general, older employees receive higher payouts than younger employees.

The WIS scheme was introduced in 2007 and has consistently benefited more than 20% of the Singaporean employee workforce. The number of WIS recipients fluctuates each year and tends to decline in periods of rising incomes. Between 2015 and 2017, nominal wage at the 20th percentile of full-time employed citizens has grown by an average of 4.7% per annum. This explains the smaller number of WIS recipients in 2017 compared to 2015. Such changes in incomes are taken into account at every three-yearly review of WIS to ensure that more than 20% of Singaporean employees remain eligible for WIS. The results of the next review will be announced next year, for implementation in 2020.