The Hawker Protection Floor (proposed §2.11)

It gathers Hawkers and Social Protection's proposals 1, 2, 3 and 5 (MediSave taken as the hawker earns, which smooths a bill the stall licence already enforces; the retirement match; pooled cover on top of ComCare and private policies; and a livelihood dataset) into a proposed new section, §2.11, beside the Security Package's one-centre critical-illness pool. Eligibility follows the person: an individual food-stall licensee who works the stall, earns self-employed income and holds at most two stalls, so chains stay out. It is one list at two scopes. The base, at most about $4.1M a year, is a retirement match of up to $1,200 a year for every public-centre stallholder under 55 (about 6,900 stalls, by our estimate), a ceiling at full take-up. The stretch, about $7.9M a year, reaches every stallholder under 55, coffeeshops and food courts included, at 70% take-up, with shared hospital-cash cover. From 55 the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme already matches top-ups, so the plan helps hawkers claim it rather than paying twice. Giving, Heritage Plate licences and HDB's forgone tender rent could meet part of either; the plan costs the match, marks it optional and leaves the decision for later (Hawkers and Social Protection, C.8.1). Follow the Plate scores the floor at a leverage of 0.94, almost all of it savings rather than cash (0.19).

Who pays

ASK OF GOVERNMENT · PHILANTHROPY-FUNDED · BUILDS ON

What it costs

Base at most ≈ $4.1M SGD · a year

(every public-centre stallholder under 55 taking it up); stretch ≈ $7.9M (all stallholders at 70% take-up, the match under 55, with shared hospital-cash cover). Ceilings: fewer than half of stallholders are under 55

What it builds on

Contribute-as-you-earn for the self-employed serving government agencies; Matched Retirement Savings from 55, which the plan helps hawkers claim; the plan's §2.9 critical-illness pool (Hawkers and Social Protection, C.4, C.6, §2.11.2).

The ask of Government

Decision

Stallholder retirement match and MediSave as you earn

Instrument

The match: a Budget line, administered by CPF Board and MOM. MediSave as you earn: CPF Board, administrative

Fiscal cost

Base at most ≈ $4.1M a year (every public-centre stallholder under 55 taking it up); stretch ≈ $7.9M (all stallholders at 70% take-up, the match under 55, with shared hospital-cash cover). Ceilings: fewer than half of stallholders are under 55

What it buys

Parity with the platform worker. "The rider got CPF. Now so does the cook."

From §2.11.2, §7.7.

Who gains

Diners

Your kopitiam uncle may pay twice, or five times, the rent of his cousin at the hawker centre; the floor follows him either way (Hawkers and Social Protection, C.7).

Hawkers

Parity, not privilege: the floor every other bloc already has, while keeping pricing freedom and ownership of the recipe (Hawkers and Social Protection, C.1).

Government

Parity with the platform worker: "The rider got CPF. Now so does the cook." (§2.11.2).