The theme for this year is building for the future. Since I'm single and as the only child, supporting my parents has always been the top of my wish list in each year's budget. My parents are almost 60 and this is the age group which I feel has been left out by G. They are already too old when CPF life was introduced and are too 'young' to qualify for the Pioneer Generation package. Although my parents are still working, my mom has been toying with the idea of retirement but with an outstanding HDB loan and little savings, I've to encourage her to keep working. I feel bad though and I hope that when they reach 65, I'll be able to support their decision to retire. Looking at this year budget, what caught my eye is the CPF contribution rate for the older generation. I am already prepared to help out in my parent's HDB loan and the extra percentage will help greatly. Another reason to encourage my mom to stay on for just a while longer. Unfortunately as a cab driver my dad will not benefit from this. Workfare bonus will help but there is no mention of it this year. I'm thinking if it make sense to top up my Dad's Medisave and in the event of hospitalization (touch wood) to use my Medisave first. My colleague commented that why use cash if G could have allow us to transfer part of our Medisave into our parents Medisave. The next area that got me excited is the Silver Support Scheme. Again, my parents are too young to qualify but G has now adopted a new method of assessing one's eligibility. My parents stay in a 5 room flat and based on the traditional assessment of the  annual value of your home and assessable income, they will not qualify for any assistance. G should instead take into consideration how much CPF my parents have and how many children are supporting them. There could be many single child families like me whose parents have no CPF. Come on G, I'm sure you can do something! The Skills Future scheme seems like a very big thing. As a strong advocator of lifelong learning, I am supportive of this scheme but when I think from my parents point of view, I can't seem to figure out how they will benefit from this. I know the media will portray the elderly enjoying the opportunity to pick up a new skill but seriously I think at their age, they would prefer to relax and enjoy their retirement years.I think G also has to understand that most skills are taught in English. My dad belong to the 'Chinese' generation. Basic English is fine but if you are going to teach him a specialized skill in English, you will have to send him to an English course first. Instead of having to learn a new skill, why not support them in their hobbies and interest e.g. KTV, social dancing, gardening, etc. This will not only promote a healthy mind but also help in strengthening safety nets. The only direct benefit I stand to gain from this year's budget is probably the income tax rebate which I think is pretty generous. I'll probably get to save a few hundred dollars and I intend to use it to top up my Dad's Medisave. In doing so, I'll get a tax rebate for next year too. This is what we will be getting:

Household

• Service and conservancy charges rebate of 1.5 months

Mom

• Higher CPF contribution rate and extra interest on Medisave account.

Myself.

• Personal income tax rebate of 50%, capped at $1000.

That seems to be it and it look like my Dad will get nothing this year. Worse still with the impending fuel tax, my dad may suffer a drop in his taxi earnings! If you have any thoughts on this year's budget, please leave a comment below.