MoneySense,
Singapore’s national financial education programme has rolled out new initiatives to encourage the public to check if their finances are in good shape.
A Financial Planning Attitudes Survey commissioned by the MoneySense
Council (chaired by MAS and the Ministry of Manpower) found that only three in five Singapore residents have started planning for their future financial need. Those who
have not done so felt that it was still early to start, did not know where or how to start,
or did not think they had enough money to start. This finding was common across
respondents from all ages.
To equip Singaporeans with the knowledge and skills to plan and manage their
finances effectively, new initiatives will be implemented under the MoneySense
programme:
- An online financial health check tool on a refreshed MoneySense website
to help Singaporeans assess their financial health, identify gaps, and take steps
to plug these gaps
The Financial Health Check questionnaire enables Singaporeans
to assess their financial health in the areas of money management,
insurance, investment, as well as retirement and estate planning.
Customised recommendations will be provided to help them address the
gaps identified.
For example, Singaporeans who want to improve their
savings habits can take part in the Pledge to Stash initiative. Pledge to Stash is a commitment to themselves to save before they spend, by setting
up a recurring transfer to automatically save into a dedicated savings
account every month.
Singaporeans will also be able to able to access
“starter packs” on the refreshed MoneySense website to work on identified
weak areas to improve their financial health.
Enhanced services at government touchpoints
HDB will provide more information for home buyers and owners to consider
different home loan financing and repayment options to help them save on
interest payments while the CPF Board has strengthened its existing Retirement Planning Service - one-on-one sessions aimed at helping CPF members understand the CPF schemes and to plan ahead - to
help CPF members who are turning 55 years old to understand their options in unlocking the value of their HDB flats for retirement.
These are
- MoneySense annual campaign and roadshows. The MoneySense annual financial education campaign will run from November 2018
to February 2019. The focus is of this year’s campaign is to encourage Singaporeans to
take the MoneySense Financial Health Check. Visitors to the MoneySense roadshows will find out how
to put their Financial Health Check recommendations into action. Complimentary one-to-one financial health
clinics are also available for those who would like more detailed discussions on their
Financial Health Check recommendations.
Details:
Roadshows will run at:
8–9 December 2018: HDB Hub, Toa Payoh
12–13 January 2019: Canopy@J-Link, Jurong East
26–27 January 2019: Kampung Admiralty
