Data on Social Mobility for Children Born to Middle-Income Household Percentile Groups against Growing Stagnation Trends

Parliamentary Question by Mr Shawn Loh:

To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance apart from data on social mobility based on children born to fathers in the bottom 20% of earners (a) whether the Ministry can also share data on social mobility for middle-income households such as those born to fathers at the (i) 40th (ii) 60th and (iii) 80th percentile; and (b) whether there is any trend of growing stagnation for these groups.

Parliamentary Reply by Senior Minister of State for Finance, Mr Jeffrey Siow:

For children born to fathers who were in the 41^st to 80^th percentile of earners, the share of children in each income quintile has remained broadly stable across cohorts. See Chart 1 for more details.

Chart 1: Income distribution of children (in their 30s) born to fathers who were in the 41st to 80th percentile of earners (in their 40s) Source: Department of Statistics (DOS)

Note: Methodological notes can be found in Chart 17 of MOF’s Occasional Paper on Income Growth, Inequality and Social Mobility Trends in Singapore ↗ (opens in new tab).

We will continue to monitor social mobility trends and review our policies to ensure they remain effective in supporting Singaporeans across all income groups.