Overview

• Lawrence Wong pledged to keep social mobility moving by expanding early-childhood support such as KidStart and ComLink+, lowering the stakes of single examinations and broadening definitions of success in schools and hiring.
• The government will study ways to boost retirement adequacy and provide added help for those who cannot build sufficient savings, alongside more support for children with special needs and people with disabilities.
• Singapore’s Department of Statistics has revised the Gini coefficient to include all income sources, lifting the after-transfers figure to roughly 0.38 from 0.364 in 2024, though Wong said the longer-term trend still points down.
• Wong cautioned that tighter electoral contests could increase appeals to race or religion, cited a close call during GE2025 and urged all parties to forswear identity-based campaigning while welcoming robust opposition scrutiny in parliament.
• MPs and labor leaders pressed for concrete steps on jobs and skills, including scaling GRiT traineeships and apprenticeships, launching an AI Ready SG upskilling drive, updating protections and benefits portability for non-traditional workers, and stronger caregiver supports such as caregiving leave and targeted CPF top-ups.