Question:
Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Department of Statistics measures household wealth inequality such as by decile or wealth mobility; (b) if so, what is the methodology employed; and (c) if no such data is tracked, whether the Government plans to measure and publish household wealth trends.
Written Reply by Minister Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry:
The Department of Statistics (DOS) does not measure household wealth inequality.
Household wealth comprises several components. These include the value of residential properties net of mortgage loans, shares and securities, savings in CPF accounts, life insurance and bank deposits. Many of these data are not readily available for statistical compilation. For instance, administrative data on bank deposits and mortgage loans are sensitive personal data protected by the Banking Act. It is also challenging to collect such data through surveys as personal wealth is a sensitive topic. In fact, the experience of other countries that have collected wealth data through surveys is that individuals tend to under-report their wealth.
Nonetheless, DOS will continue to monitor international developments in the compilation of wealth statistics, and review the feasibility of doing so in Singapore if necessary.