More individuals are facing financial stress to the extent that they have sought bankruptcy as a way out. The Straits Times reported in November 2025 that bankruptcy orders in Singapore have reached a five-year high, with 1,395 cases recorded in the first 10 months of 2025, already surpassing the annual totals from 2020 to 2024 (The Straits Times, 25 November 2025).

Behind these numbers are real people — parents, sons and daughters — and often colleagues within our own organisation.

A Trusted Organisation for Matters Related to Personal Debts.

For more than 20 years, Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) has been a trusted non-profit organisation supporting individuals struggling with debt owed to banks and licensed moneylenders.

CCS works collaboratively with banks, financial institutions, and licensed moneylenders to facilitate repayment arrangements that are sustainable and beneficial to both borrowers and lenders.

Where workable solutions are possible, these arrangements help borrowers avoid prolonged collection actions, legal proceedings, and bankruptcy. When lenders accept these arrangements, borrowers benefit from greater stability, reduced stress, and a clear path towards fulfilling their debt obligations responsibly.

Prevention: Avoiding the Pain of Intervention

HR managers and well-being team leads are increasingly recognising that employee well-being includes financial well-being. When financial distress goes unmanaged, it often translates into reduced workplace focus, lower morale, and heightened stress at work.

This is where CCS can partner with organisations to support their people. From our experience, signs of financial stress often go unspoken in the workplace. In our Asian culture, conversations about money and debt are still avoided. Over time, employees may become distracted or overwhelmed, delay seeking help, or avoid addressing their debt challenges altogether due to fear or shame.

While CCS serves as a safety net when debt becomes beyond an individual’s ability to manage, we place strong emphasis on prevention — as prevention is often far less painful than intervention.

CCS supports financial well-being through financial education talks and workshops tailored to different life stages — from the basics of budgeting and responsible credit use, to prudent borrowing and planning for major financial goals.

Intervention: Credit Counselling and Debt Management Programme (DMP)

For employees who are at risk of becoming over-indebted, CCS provides confidential credit counselling to help them understand their situation and explore appropriate solutions.

Where suitable, employees may consider the Debt Management Programme (DMP) - a structured repayment plan with manageable monthly instalments that enables them to repay their debts in full over a reasonable timeline, while avoiding further financial distress.

Why Financial Well-Being Matters for HR & Well-Being Teams

Being over-indebted and under stress can impair judgement, leading some individuals to act impulsively or irrationally when overwhelmed by financial pressure.

In one case, a delivery rider saddled with more than $11,000 in credit card debt threatened a bomb attack on a bank during calls with its customer service staff — a wanton threat driven by his frustration and distress over his mounting debt (The Straits Times, 28 November 2024).

Supporting your workforce’s financial well-being is no longer optional — it’s part of a resilient workplace strategy.

Whether you are planning your upcoming well-being calendar for 2026 or responding to rising financial stress among employees, CCS can support your organisation through:

• lunch-time talks on responsible credit use and prudent borrowing;
• hands-on workshops that equip employees with budgeting and debt-management skills;
• complement your employee well-being week or staff initiatives.

Click here to preview our programme topics.

At CCS, we believe that fostering financial resilience is a key foundation for both personal well-being and workplace performance.

Contact CCS Outreach & Education Team to start a conversation.

Email [email protected]

Call Michelle at 6929 6947