Latest news with #citystate
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Health
- Independent Singapore
Long-term care costs in ageing Singapore rise to nearly S$3,000 a month: Singlife
Photo: Depositphotos/ glowonconcept (for illustration purposes only) Personal Finance Singapore News SINGAPORE: Long-term care in Singapore has become increasingly expensive, with average monthly costs now nearing US$2,340 (S$3,000), up from US$1,813 (S$2,324) in 2018, reflecting an annual inflation rate of about 4%, Singapore Business Review reported. It cited data from a Singlife white paper titled From Awareness to Action: Securing Long-Term Care for a Super-Aged Society. The report warned that many Singaporeans are not financially ready to deal with these rising costs, especially as the country moves towards becoming a super-aged society by next year . In mid-July, a study from Manulife also reported that fewer than half of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in the city-state feel they're financially prepared for long-term care and medical expenses later in life. Currently, government schemes such as ElderShield and CareShield Life provide monthly payouts of up to US$516 (S$662), which fall short of what's actually needed. The report also found that only one in three Singaporeans aged 30 and above have supplementary long-term care insurance coverage, suggesting many are still relying on their personal savings or family for support. The majority of individuals typically require long-term care for 10 years, with some cases lasting more than 15 years, according to claims data from 2010 to 2024. Meanwhile, the insurer pointed out that the youngest claimant in its records was just 32 years old. To secure long-term care for an ageing society like Singapore, Singlife recommended early detection and prevention of major illnesses, adding long-term care to retirement planning, promoting physical and mental health, strengthening community support systems, and improving public and private services coordination to address these concerns. /TISG Read also: About 6,000 vulnerable seniors to benefit from S$7.3M DBS Foundation programme, but netizens say it's just a 'band-aid measure' Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only) () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
Independent Singapore
3 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Drink stall chain allegedly makes staff pay for incorrect orders, says part-time worker
Photo: Freepik/zinkevych (for illustration purposes only) SINGAPORE: A part-time worker has publicly criticised a 'drink stall chain' in Singapore for making her and other employees pay for any incorrectly made beverages. In a post on the r/SGexams subreddit, the worker wrote that she found the policy both 'unnecessary' and 'unreasonable,' especially since they are only paid S$9 per hour. 'It is already barely enough to make ends meet,' she said. 'It's hard to justify this kind of policy. I mean, yeah, a drink is just four dollars and everybody just needs to fork out a dollar to pay for it, which isn't that much, but I don't understand why employees should be held financially responsible when the drink can simply be remade or the order voided, with the reason written on the receipt.' She went on to ask fellow Redditors whether it was truly fair for management to impose such penalties on workers already earning minimum wage, just because of what she called 'a puny mistake.' While she didn't reveal the company's name, she hinted that 'it's not a small business' and that it has 'multiple branches' across the city-state. 'This practice is likely illegal & unethical.' Under her post, several Redditors urged the worker to report the company's policy to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). One wrote, 'Illegal deductions are only permissible after the employer conducts a proper investigation to determine who is at fault. Keep track and ask the owner to pay back when quitting, or report to MOM.' Another said, 'Document it in writing and file report to MOM. Plus the cost of the drink definitely isn't worth 4 dollars.' A third wrote, 'This practice is likely illegal & unethical. Report to MOM.' A fourth shared, 'Nope. Usually, they will give it to the staff as a free drink/toss it away/if the next order is coincidentally the same drink. I have never heard of this. Not common when I work in F&B or juice bars.' Employers must hold an inquiry before deducting wages According to the Ministry of Manpower, employers are permitted to deduct an employee's salary 'for damage or loss of money or goods,' but only under specific conditions. They must first carry out a proper inquiry to determine whether the employee is directly responsible. The employee must also be given an opportunity to explain the circumstances before any deductions are made. If the employer decides to proceed, the deduction must not exceed 25% of the employee's monthly salary and must be made as a one-time lump sum. Read also: Woman says her brother keeps falling into debt chasing 'fast money,' and their mum always bails him out () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
Independent Singapore
3 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Nvidia and Tesla led Singapore's most searched stocks in June
Photo: Depositphotos/tang90246 SINGAPORE: Nvidia and Tesla were the most searched stocks by Singaporeans in June 2025. Nvidia topped the list with about 276,600 Google searches in Singapore, while Tesla recorded 192,600 monthly searches, Singapore Business Review reported, citing data from forex broker BrokerChooser. Globally, Nvidia saw 14.6 million monthly searches. Earlier this month, the US chipmaker became the first publicly traded company to reach a US$4 trillion (S$5.14 million) market value amid the AI boom. Meanwhile, the report noted that searches for 'Tesla stock' in the city-state went up by 103.6% compared to the same time last year. Software provider Palantir came in third, with 57,340 monthly searches. This year, the software firm, which provides services to US military and intelligence agencies, recently became one of the top 20 most valuable public companies in the US by market capitalisation. Meta, which finalised its US$14.3 billion investment in AI startup Scale AI last month, ranked fourth with 56,170 searches. The deal came with Scale AI co-founder and CEO Alexandr Wang leaving the company to join an artificial general intelligence (AGI) team being formed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. See also Is Singapore Still Ideal for Expats? (Spoiler: Opposite of Yes) Other names on the list included Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (45,750), Apple (43,740), and Google's parent company, Alphabet (32,400). BrokerChooser said it used the keyword analytics tool Ahrefs to analyse the most searched stocks on Google, starting with a seed list of the 50 largest companies by market capitalisation. The study also included data from Visual Capitalist on stock market participation rates by country, with data collected on Jul 8, 2025. /TISG Read also: Nvidia CEO to sell more advanced chips to China after H20 ban, warns of 'tremendous loss' for firms in potential US$50B AI market Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only) () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
In Singapore, migrant workers hailed as heroes after sinkhole rescue
Migrant workers in Singapore have been praised for their quick action in saving a woman after her car was swallowed by a sinkhole. Social media videos show a 3-metre (10-foot) deep sinkhole suddenly appearing on Saturday evening along Tanjong Katong Road east of the citystate, causing a black Mazda to topple sideways into the hole. Immediately, nearby construction workers can be seen rushing to her rescue. One worker leans into the sinkhole as two more workers approach the edge. As the driver emerges from the cavity, four or five workers pull her out. Construction site foreman Pitchai Udaiyappan Subbiah was working at a Public Utilities Board (PUB) site close by when he heard a loud sound, The Straits Times newspaper reported. Rushing to the scene, he saw 'there was one car, and one madam was inside the car. I was thinking: 'somebody has dropped inside, I want to help'', the 46-year-old told reporters on Sunday. Some of the workers had wanted to jumped into the hole to help the woman up but Subbiah advised them not to. 'I said to my workers, you go down you also cannot climb up,' he told Channel News Asia.
Independent Singapore
5 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
1 in 5 Singapore workers struggle to keep up with digital transformation: Indeed report
Photo: Pexels (for illustration purposes only) SINGAPORE: One in five workers (11%) in Singapore said they feel overwhelmed and left behind by digital transformation, according to a new report by job site Indeed , pointing to a growing gap between the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the workplace and the formal training they're given. While 36% are already using generative AI tools at work, 33% said they have not received any formal training. Indeed 's latest report, The Work Ahead, was conducted in May and gathered responses from 1,500 participants, including blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, and business leaders in the city-state. It also stated that only 36% feel optimistic about technology shaping their careers. The report found that lack of training (39%), the struggle to keep up with change (39%), and the lack of early exposure to tech tools in their careers (28%) are the reasons holding employees back from being AI-ready in the workplace. To better adopt new technologies, the report highlighted that workers are more likely to benefit from user-friendly tools with clear guides (42%), along with structured training like workshops (38%) and space to experiment in low-pressure settings (35%). See also Former MP Irene Ng condemns cabby for hating foreigners 'Employers must take a hard look at existing training programmes and update them to reflect the realities of today's AI-driven workplace. This means moving beyond one-off workshops and building continuous learning pathways that are tailored, accessible, and linked to real-world tasks employees perform,' said Callam Pickering, Indeed's APAC Senior Economist, as he noted that job seekers will increasingly gravitate towards employers that foster a strong learning culture around AI. /TISG Read also: Students beat AI models on top maths problems, even as models hit gold-level scores for the first time () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
