THE Minister for Manpower and four MPs scaled fish at her stall.

But at the end of their visit yesterday morning, fishmonger Madam Lim Chiu Guat, 66, still had no idea what Workfare was - or whether she qualified for it.

When The New Paper quizzed her children, who handle her money matters, her daughter, factory worker Sally Tan, who is in her 40s, asked, puzzled: 'But how can my mother qualify when she's working?'

The income gap may be closing and the schemes overall may be working. But the communication gap, it seems, still needs some work.

Workfare is meant to encourage older low wage workers to stay employed and make them more financially-prepared for retirement.

Madam Lim, a widow, has run the fish stall at the market at Block 115 Bukit Merah View for 30 years.

She now shares the stall with her son.

In a good month, after deducting rent and splitting the profits between them, each earns about $1,200. In some months, it can be as low as $600.

Madam Tan said she helped her mother put $800 into her Medisave last year, so she could renew her fish stall licence.

According to the CPF website, licensing authorities will process self-employed persons' applications for licence renewal only if their Medisave contributions are up-to-date.

To be eligible for Workfare you must be a Singaporean, at least 35 years old, earning less than $1,500 a month on average. Among other requirements, you must have made Medisave contributions if you are self-employed.

When told of Madam Lim's case, Mr Chan Ah Kow, vice-chairman of the Cairnhill Community Club management committee, which arranged the Minister's visit to the fish stall, said his staff will follow up on her case.

But Madam Lim said that even though she now knows about Workfare, she still would not want to apply for it.

Said her daughter Madam Tan in Mandarin: 'She said she will work as long as she is able to, to make her own living and pass the time.

'Also, she has five children. Between the five of us, we will take care of her.'

Dignity and a can-do spirit, worth far more than any dollars and cents.

This article was first published in The New Paper.