Drawing down CPF would provide a retiree only 15% of his last drawn pay when a retiree would need at least 66% to sustain his lifestyle. Mr Banerjee calculates that a scheme earning 5% interest could provide a retiree 45% of his last drawn pay if the company contributed just one month's bonus a year to it.

Compared to letting workers invest on their own, he said a company initiated scheme would allow them to leverage on the bargaining power of the company and also gain access to the best financial advisers.

"The key aspect is that unlike the CPF which adopts a broad sweep across all companies, this approach is focused on the company itself, and employee and shareholders together benefit," he said.

Make CPF money work harder
MP Ong Kian Min commented in Parliament debate on Budget 2007
The CPF Board should remake itself as a pension fund manager and maximize investment returns on Singaporeans' CPF savings, said Mr Ong Kian Min (MP for Tampines GRC). His challenge to the board? Make the money grow by 8 to 10 % a year. This benchmark is in line with the conservative 8 to 10 % return private bankers expect to earn for their high net worth clients, and would narrow the wealth gap.

CPF changes in Budget 2007
To help the majority of Singaporeans save more for their future needs, the employer's CPF contribution rate will be increased by 1.5% from 1 July 2007 (to 14.5% subject to an existing income cap of $4,500), out of which:
- 1% will go into the employees' Ordinary Account and 0.5% will go into their Medisave Account.
- This will not apply to older, low wage workers - those above 35 years old who earn $1,500 or less.

Take steps to ensure retirement funds
MP Ahmad Magad commented in Parliament debate on Budget 2007
Dr Ahmad Magad (MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) called on the Government to look at more schemes to ensure Singaporeans have enough money when they retire. Currently, CPF savings is the only recourse for most people. He suggested that the Government consider two avenues: the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) and letting firms start retirement savings plans for workers.

23/11/06: Wages in private sector to continue rising next year: SNEF
Wages are up this year by an average of 3.5% in the private sector, compared to 3% last year, according to a Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF) survey among more than 200 companies.

Koh Juan Kiat, Executive Director, SNEF, said: "Although wages and employment have gone up in most industries, I think we should take note that productivity growth in nearly all sectors had slowed down from 5% in the first quarter, to about 0.5% in the third quarter. So I think high built-in wage increases may not be sustainable. It is better for better performing companies to reward workers with higher bonuses this year because with non-sustainable productivity increases, we will not be able to carry the built-in wage increases in future years."

23/11/06: SNEF: Turnover rate increased
An area of concern for employers is more job hopping with the tighter labour market now.

Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF) says that the turnover rate has gone up from less than 1% in the first quarter of this year to 2% in the third quarter, and called on companies to do more to retain workers through performance-based bonuses and incentives.

14/11/06: Announcement - Exemption by MAS for IFAST to act as trustee of corporate pension schemes
IFAST Financial Pte Ltd ("IFAST") has been officially exempted by MAS from the application under the Trust Companies Act 2005 in respect of the provision of trust business services relating to employee pension schemes by IFAST.

With this exemption, IFAST can help companies set up a trust in relation to a corporate pension and act as the trustee as well. Being able to perform our existing role as the custodian and the new role as the trustee concurrently makes it more cost-effective for companies to structure and protect employees' retirement benefits under a trust. Ultimately, employees will benefit with a larger retirement nest egg!

8/3/06: Announcement - International committee to study ways of improving CPF returns, by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen
Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen announced that the CPF Board has set up a CPF Advisory Panel with international advisers on board to study ways to help Singaporeans earn better returns on their CPF savings and build their retirement nest eggs.

27/9/05: CPF Board as aggregator for annuities and pensions, statement by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen
Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen said that the CPF Board is considering the role of an aggregator for annuities and pension plans under study, to bring down distribution costs through economies of scale.

25/9/05: PM Lee floats idea for a default pension plan, at CPF Board's 50th anniversary dinner
PM Lee Hsien Loong mooted the idea of an opt-out, default pension plan that could potentially yield more returns than the fixed CPF interest.

Such a scheme would pool CPF members' funds for long term investment, so as to reap economies of scale and lower costs.

Mr Lee said the CPF Board has to adapt to the twin challenges of longer lifespans and smaller families, two trends that will result in an ageing society and workforce.