ElderShield review committee proposes severe disability insurance scheme be made compulsory with coverage starting from age 30 instead of 40

* ElderShield to be renamed CareShield Life with higher, lifetime payouts from 2020 -27 May 2018

Review Panel wants to expand ElderShield coverage in interim recommendations
It proposes making scheme compulsory for future cohorts and starting premiums earlier
By Linette Lai, Health Correspondent, The Straits Times, 31 Jan 2018

ElderShield coverage should be made compulsory for all - including those with pre-existing disabilities - according to the committee reviewing the insurance scheme for people with severe disabilities.

It recommended that people start paying premiums at the age of 30 rather than 40, and suggested that the Government, rather than private insurance providers, administer the scheme. It also called for the claims process to be simplified.

The committee gave its interim update yesterday, with the full set of recommendations expected to follow by the middle of this year.

If accepted, its proposals will apply only to Singaporeans aged 30 to 40 who are joining ElderShield for the first time. People who have previously opted out will not be made to go back on the scheme.

"We want ElderShield to be a social safety net, and we all have a collective responsibility to take care of those with disabilities," said Mr Chaly Mah, who chairs the ElderShield Review Committee.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Senior Minister of State for Health Chee Hong Tat said an enhanced ElderShield scheme would enable Singaporeans to "pool our risks and resources in preparation for old age".

"It is an important pillar of Singapore's social safety net as our society ages," he said. "The Government will look at providing premium subsidies to keep the premiums affordable for lower-and middle-income Singaporeans."

Currently, all Singaporeans join the scheme automatically when they turn 40, and are covered by one of three private insurers - Aviva, Great Eastern or NTUC Income - but they are able to opt out.

Although the opt-out rate in recent years has been about 5 per cent, more than a third of people opted out when the scheme started in 2002.

Money is paid out when people cannot perform three of the six "activities of daily living" on their own. These are washing, dressing, using the toilet, feeding oneself, moving around indoors and getting from the bed to a chair or vice versa.

Mr Mah, who is also the chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Accountancy Commission, said: "It is clear to us that the average Singaporean does not understand the risk of severe disability... When you underestimate this risk, it is easy to take the decision to opt out."

ElderShield scheme to be reviewed and your feedback is wanted

Wanted: Public feedback on how to improve ElderShield
The Straits Times, 20 Dec 2016

Peg ElderShield payouts to inflation or review it every three years to ensure the payouts keep pace with rising costs.

And make the payouts last until the end of the beneficiary's life instead of the current maximum of six years.

That was one idea mooted in March this year.

Suggestions like these are what the ElderShield Review Committee wants as it reviews the disability insurance scheme.

To get public feedback, the committee will be hosting a series of public consultation sessions from January to June next year to find out how people think the scheme can be improved.

The review committee is looking for opinions on the appropriate level of ElderShield coverage and benefits, as well as input on how premiums can be kept affordable even if benefits go up.

The 14-member committee will also look at how to make it easier to sign up for ElderShield and make claims.



ElderShield is an insurance scheme for those who have severe disabilities - that is, people who cannot carry out daily activities such as eating, dressing or taking a bath on their own.

Currently, the scheme provides payouts of up to $400 a month for up to six years. It covered 1.2 million people aged 40 to 83 as of the end of last year.

Parliamentary debate on changes to the Elected Presidency

Parliament passes changes to elected presidency
By Charissa Yong, The Straits Times, 10 Nov 2016

Parliament yesterday passed changes to the Constitution to raise the bar for presidential candidates and ensure all races are represented from time to time in the office.

It means Singapore's next president is likely to be Malay, as next year's election will be reserved for Malay candidates. The amendments also raise the maximum number of Non-Constituency MPs from nine to 12, and give them the same voting rights as elected MPs.

All 77 People's Action Party MPs present voted in favour of the changes, while all six elected Workers' Party MPs opposed them.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed at the end of three full days of debate, during which 38 MPs spoke on the changes mooted.



Rounding up the debate, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said while the proposals were not perfect, they addressed present realities while encouraging Singapore towards multiracial representation in the presidency. WP's call for an appointed president and elected senate was not workable, he added.

"We are trying to improve our institutions and strengthen them for the Singapore of the future," he said. "It is part of the overall effort to build stabilisers in the system."

Singapore's foreign policy in a changing world

Six countries in three months: the United States, China, Laos, Japan, India and Australia. PM Lee has been making the rounds to affirm strong ties and boost them further. Insight looks at these visits to Singapore's key partners and the challenges for Singapore's approach to foreign policy at a time when the global balance of power is shifting.
By Chong Zi Liang, The Sunday Times, 16 Oct 2016

The past three months have been packed ones for Singapore's diplomats.

From Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to Washington in August to his address to Australia's Parliament in Canberra last week, Singapore has been stepping up ties with its key partners.

In between those two trips, PM Lee was invited to the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Hangzhou, China, and visited Vientiane in Laos, as well as Tokyo and New Delhi.

These visits underscore the importance of diplomacy to Singapore's survival and sovereignty as a small state that relies on open trade and respect for the rule of law globally.

But Singapore's independent, principled, foreign policy positions have also come under scrutiny as the global balance of power shifts.

Insight looks at Singapore's foreign policy and the challenges it faces on the international as well as domestic front.

Singapore's view of the world

A small country like Singapore needs all the friends it can get, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has flown some 70,000km over the past three months to make sure of that.

In August, he made an official visit to the United States at the invitation of President Barack Obama, a significant gesture that reflected a warm, deep and wide-ranging friendship spanning cooperation in various fields over the past 50 years.

Last month, he visited China for the Group of 20 leaders' summit at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, and both leaders took stock of the broad and growing friendship, in particular the third government-to-government project in Chongqing.

PM Lee then went on to Laos for the annual ASEAN and East Asia summits involving leaders of all 10 South-east Asian countries and their key partners to take regional partnerships forward.

Later that month, he also visited Japan, met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and witnessed the signing of several pacts to strengthen ties in trade, infrastructure and technology.

In the first week of this month, he made a trip to India where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and witnessed the signing of several pacts to strengthen cooperation in intellectual property and skills training.

Last week, PM Lee was in Australia where he met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, witnessed the inking of pacts to step up defence, trade, innovation and security ties, and made a historic speech to its Parliament, the first Singapore prime minister to do so.

As he said in a Twitter post yesterday on his visit: "We've signed several agreements with Australia to take our relationship further. Happy to call them 'mates'."

In Canberra, he told Singapore reporters there are still a few more trips to come. This year saw more trips than the year before, when the calendar included SG50 celebrations and the general election.

But opportunities also presented themselves, such as the one-year anniversary of the strategic partnership with India and the conclusion of a package of initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia, he said.

"While we must not lose sight of our own domestic problems, neither must we forget that there's an outside world. There are things happening that affect us, there are opportunities and friends we have to pay attention to," PM Lee added.

Josephine Teo: Sex and babies in the Lion City

You don't need much space to have sex: Josephine Teo on ‘no flat, no child’ belief
By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 12 Oct 2016

You do not need much space to have sex.

That was the feisty rejoinder from Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, who oversees the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), to a question on whether young people are not getting their flats early enough to have children.

The suggestion was that this could be a chicken-and-egg problem. To qualify for the Parenthood Priority Scheme, which gives first- time married couples first dibs on getting a flat, they must be expecting or have a citizen child below 16.

But to have a child, some say they need to have a flat first.

With a straight face, Mrs Teo declared: "You need a very small space to have sex."



Known for her candid blog posts on dating and marriage, Mrs Teo does not mince her words - think "menstruation" and "cysts" - when it comes to urging young people to look for love and settle down early.

In an interview on marriage and parenthood issues last week, the mother of three teenage children tackled issues ranging from infertility to why the Government should not be "too kaypoh" (Hokkien for busybody).

She noted that the Singaporean love story has a different arc from that of countries in the West. "In our case, man meets woman, man falls in love with woman, man proposes to woman, they then plan the wedding and do the house," she said.

"In France, in the UK, in the Nordic countries, man meets woman, tonight they can make a baby already. They love each other. Both of them partly have their own family, so it is a matter of living in yours or living in mine, and they also don't have to worry about marriage - that comes later," she added.



So how about having a couple declare that they wish to have a child in two years and get the flat first?

"What if they can't conceive? Take back the flat from them? How do you know they really tried to conceive? Can we check whether they use contraceptives? Cannot, right?" she replied, amused.

Instead of having the Government poke its nose into the bedroom, Mrs Teo relied instead on persuasion. She urged women to have babies early as they would not know if they are fertile or not.

"You never really know that you're not fertile until you try. Unfortunately, it is one of those things. There is no fertility indicator. As a woman you will know, if you have regular menstruation, okay, (there is a) likelihood. But maybe you have a major cyst and how would you know until you attempt to conceive, only to realise that you can't?"

Prepare to ride change, be part of it: DPM Tharman at post-National Day Rally 2016 dialogue

Young Singaporeans must have diverse experiences and develop soft skills, he tells youth at dialogue
By Pearl Lee, The Straits Times, 26 Sep 2016

Singaporeans must prepare for one wave of change after another, so as to ride them and stay ahead, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.

Each wave will disrupt and displace jobs, but people can make up for this by being part of the new opportunities created, he added.

This will involve significant changes in education and culture: Singaporeans must have diverse experiences when young, which will help them develop soft skills needed to embrace change.

"Young Singaporeans must have the chance to have very different experiences as they grow up. Outside of studies, what do they do? Is it sports, three or four times a week, dance, is it expeditions, a chance to go to Cambodia?" he said at a dialogue with around 100 young people.

People should embrace the mindset that they must keep growing throughout life, he added.

The young should also be encouraged to have more free play, which gives birth to "a sense of dare and ambition", to foster entrepreneurs.

And Singapore has an advantage - it is a system that does not have big problems or gaps, he said.

"We are starting from a position where we don't have big problems. We... have a legacy of a strong education system," he added. "More diverse experiences, growing through life and more free play when young are not going to wreck the system. We can only improve."

Elected Presidency Constitutional Commission Report 2016

Elected Presidency: Report of the Constitutional Commission 2016

Government White Paper

Panel proposes key changes to elected presidency
It suggests raising eligibility criteria and introducing way to ensure minority president
By Zakir Hussain, Political Editor, The Straits Times, 8 Sep 2016

Significant changes are set to be made to the elected presidency to ensure candidates are amply qualified and representative of Singapore's multiracial society.

A Constitutional Commission has suggested that the bar to contest presidential elections be updated to reflect the growth of the economy and the national reserves.

Candidates from the private sector should have been the top executive of a company with at least $500 million in shareholders' equity, a change from the current rule requiring the person to have been chairman or chief executive of a company with paid-up capital of at least $100 million.

A special provision has also been recommended to guarantee that the highest office is accessible - and attainable - by members of the country's minority communities.

If someone from any of three racial groups - Chinese, Malay, or Indian and Others - has not been president for five terms, the next election should be reserved for members of that race.

This means that if the proposed provision takes effect immediately, the next election would be reserved for only Malay candidates. And if there are no presidents from the Indian and Others group elected after that, the 2041 election would be reserved for a candidate from that group.

The size and structure of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) should be strengthened too, and it should be consulted on all fiscal matters on the reserves and all key public service appointments.

Details of the recommendations by the nine-member panel are set out in a 154-page report that the Government released yesterday.

The commission was set up seven months ago to review three aspects of the 25-year-old elected presidency: the qualifying process, ensuring minority representation, and the framework by which the president exercises his custodial powers, in particular the CPA's role.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is in Laos for Asean meetings, said in a letter to the commission chairman, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, that the Government accepted in principle the main recommendations. Acting Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the commission had produced a "comprehensive and thoughtful report, after an extensive process to solicit views from the public".

The Government will give a detailed response in a White Paper next Thursday. It will then table constitutional amendments and have a full debate in Parliament.

The panel also gave its views on some matters beyond its terms of reference, and PM Lee said the Government will study them seriously. In particular, it suggested the Government consider a return to a president appointed by Parliament if and when it was fit and timely to do so.

PM Lee said: "While I appreciate the commission's reasons for this suggestion, as the Government has pointed out even when the scheme was first conceived, it would be difficult for a president to exercise custodial powers over the reserves and public service appointments, and veto proposals by the Government, without an electoral mandate."

Likewise, the panel noted that founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said the president must be elected to have the moral authority to say no to a Government that might wish to spend past reserves.

Elected Presidency: PM Lee on Race and Politics

Elected Presidency

PM Lee Hsien Loong hints at provision for minority elected president
It may kick in only if there is no president from minority races for a long time, he says
By Zakir Hussain, Political Editor, The Straits Times, 5 Sep 2016

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has given the clearest hint of proposed changes to the law to guarantee that ethnic minorities are elected president from time to time.

This special provision may need to be used, he said, only if there has not been a president of a particular race for a long time - say four, five or six terms.

Then the next election could be reserved for a member of that community if a qualified candidate presents himself or herself.



"You want a mechanism where, if you've had a long gap, then the next election - if you have a qualified minority candidate - is held only amongst a minority group," Mr Lee said in an interview on race and politics with MediaCorp broadcast last night. "And so you will be able to get a Malay or an Indian president."

But if, for some reason, no qualified minority candidate presented himself or herself, then an open election would be held and "whoever wins, wins", he said.

Mr Lee was answering a question on how proposals by a Constitutional Commission to ensure minorities can be elected president, set to be published this week, would work.

There has not been a Malay president since Mr Yusof Ishak held the post from 1965 to 1970, and observers think next year's election could be reserved for a Malay candidate.

At the National Day Rally two weeks ago, Mr Lee spoke on the need for presidents from all races so minorities feel assured of their place in society. But he took ill and had to cut short his remarks.

In the interview aired yesterday, he said minority candidates will find it hard to be elected under the current system, and the proposed changes are not tokenism, but the right step for Singapore's future.

"It is a very necessary symbolism of what we are as a multiracial society - what Singapore means, stands for and what we aspire to be."

Mr Lee noted that some of the ideas raised before the nine-member panel included rotating the presidency between the different communities, and having a team of candidates from different races.

But he felt the "least intrusive and most light-touch" way was to reserve the election for the under-represented group, but with the provision applying only when needed.

After the panel's report is out, the Government will respond with a White Paper outlining its proposals, before moving amendments to the Constitution. Changes should be in place before next year's presidential election, Mr Lee added.

Who will be the next Prime Minister after Lee Hsien Loong?

Who will lead Singapore next?
The best-laid plans for succession planning can go awry, as two Cabinet members' health scares this year showed
By Charissa Yong, The Sunday Times, 4 Sep 2016

When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his new Cabinet line-up soon after last September's general election, he made it clear that planning for leadership succession was a key priority.

Younger ministers and new office-holders were given a range of responsibilities to expose them to new areas of work.

The key assignments given to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat - such as chairing the Committee on the Future Economy - led some observers to conclude he was the clear frontrunner among the fourth-generation leadership.

So when Mr Heng suffered a stroke during a Cabinet meeting in May, undergoing emergency surgery the same day, many were worried that Singapore's leadership succession plans might be disrupted.

Then, two Sundays ago, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong caused hearts to pound when three hours into his televised National Day Rally speech - moments before he was to announce a recovered Mr Heng's return to Cabinet - he faltered on stage and had to take a break.



PM Lee rested for about an hour before returning to complete his address.

Announcing Mr Heng's return, and talking about leadership succession, he quipped: "After what happened, I think it's even more important that we talk about it now."

These episodes are reminders of the urgency of succession planning in Singapore.

Singapore is famous for its political model of identifying potential prime ministerial material far in advance. But even the best of plans can go awry, says law don and former Nominated MP Eugene Tan.

For this reason, Singaporeans should realise how important it is to have "sufficient breadth and depth in the Cabinet".

It was something PM Lee himself addressed after returning to the podium to complete his speech on the night of Aug 21. "We've now got the core team for the next generation in Cabinet. But ministers or not, all of us are mortal.

"Nothing that has happened has changed my timetable, or my resolve to press on with succession," he said, citing Chinese proverb 岁月不留人, which means "time waits for no man".

With succession now more urgent than ever, Insight looks at the issues and options.

Singapore can be a better friend to China if it builds web of friendships with other nations

In his National Day Rally speech, PM Lee explained why Singapore must remain committed to its foreign policy principle of not taking sides, being friends with all and acting based on its own interests despite external pressure, including that from the South China Sea issue
By Kor Kian Beng, China Bureau Chief, The Straits Times, 25 Aug 2016

BEIJING • The phrase "South China Sea" received a total of three mentions in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's annual National Day Rally last year and in 2014.

But last Sunday, it appeared about 15 times in his speech - Singapore's version of the State of the Union address in the United States - reflecting the increased importance of the South China Sea issue to the Republic.

Similarly, Mr Stanley Loh, Singapore's Ambassador to China, spoke about the issue - as a potential challenge to regional stability and what's at stake for the Republic - at National Day celebratory events in Beijing this month. It was the first time the envoy had broached the topic at such events in his four years here.

The increased attention given to the South China Sea issue is telling, given that Singapore is not a claimant in the territorial spats between China, four ASEAN nations and Taiwan. So what gives?

It might be that Singapore sees a need to respond to remarks from Chinese officials that appear to be veiled criticisms of the city-state's stand over the disputes. Singapore is the current country-coordinator of ASEAN-China dialogue relations at the ASEAN grouping.

At the end of a senior officials' meeting between China and ASEAN on Aug 16, China's vice-foreign minister Liu Zhenmin urged Singapore to proactively play its role as coordinator in advancing ASEAN-China relations - on the condition of non-interference in the dispute.

On Aug 5, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman urged Singapore to respect China's position on the South China Sea issue and to maintain an objective and fair position "so as to advance Sino-Singapore relations and promote healthy and stable China-ASEAN ties".

National Day Rally 2016

Anxiety, then relief, as PM Lee Hsien Loong completes rally after taking ill
He falters and is helped off stage but returns smiling and looking well
By Tham Yuen-C, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 22 Aug 2016

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong drew a standing ovation from a relieved audience when he resumed his National Day Rally speech last night, after he was suddenly taken ill while addressing the nation on live television.

At about 9.20pm, 2½ hours into the rally, he paused, faltered and appeared unable to continue. Three ministers and several security officers rushed up on stage as the audience in the auditorium at ITE College Central - as well as those watching on TV - looked on anxiously.

He was helped off the stage but waved as he left.

Some in the audience went outside to the reception area, while others stayed in their seats. The mood was sombre. About 10 minutes later, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that a medical team attending to him had assessed that his condition was not serious. The mood became perceptibly lighter.

Twenty minutes after that, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced that Mr Lee would resume his speech. The PMO also said that Mr Lee had felt "unsteady because of prolonged standing, heat and dehydration". It added: "His heart is fine and he did not have a stroke."

At 10.40pm, he returned to speak for another 15 minutes. He looked well and thanked the audience for waiting for him.



Smiling, he said: "I've never had so many doctors look at me all at once. They think I'm all right but anyway I'm going to have a full check-up after this. But before that I'd like to finish my speech."

After the rally, he went to the Singapore General Hospital for a check-up.

The rally is where Mr Lee traditionally spends the better part of three hours mapping out the Government's plans for Singapore, speaking first in Malay, then Mandarin and English.

Yesterday, in marked contrast to last year's celebratory rally during Singapore's 50th year of independence, he sketched out threats and challenges facing a Singapore at 51.

But he painted an upbeat portrait of the future, saying that although the nation will be tested from time to time, he was confident it would succeed as long as Singaporeans held fast to their foundational tenet of staying one united people, regardless of race, language or religion.

"We are a people building on the work of each generation, looking to the future with confidence," he said.

He said disruptions to businesses and workers from technology and globalisation would be a defining challenge. He noted that small and medium-sized enterprises have found it tough to adapt to the relentless changes, and urged them to stick out the rough patch, promising that there would be opportunity in crisis.

As a small state in a region grappling with the threat of terrorism, Singapore also had to contend with geopolitical and security realities, he added, calling on citizens to understand the national interest and support Singapore's position in its relations with other countries.

He noted that a dozen radicalised Singaporeans had been picked up in the past two years, and this multiracial society will come under strain should an attack happen. Whether it survives an attack will boil down to "our collective resolve to stand with each other".

Singapore is in a good place as religious and community leaders have taken a courageous stand by refuting extremist views, and made clear that terrorists do not represent Islam, said Mr Lee.

Religious leaders, in particular Muslim leaders, have made sure their faiths are practised in a way fit for Singapore's multiracial context.

Ultimately, prosperity and security depend on good politics, Mr Lee said. "Our politics must unite the country and uphold our multiracial society."

To this end, changes will be made to the elected presidency to ensure that minorities are elected to the highest office from time to time. The Government has also accepted in principle the recommendations by a Constitutional Commission on a review of the elected presidency. It will release the commission's report soon, issue a White Paper on the changes later, and debate the matter in Parliament.

Still on the topic of good politics, Mr Lee expressed relief that he had managed to reinforce his team in last year's general election and would continue to do so at the next polls. The issue of succession was all the more important, he said, in the light of what happened to him earlier in the night.

 

National Day Parade 2016

Singapore celebrates 51 years of independence at NDP 2016

Looking to a brighter future, together
Singapore's 51st birthday bash sends out a signal of inclusiveness as parade returns to Kallang

By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 10 Aug 2016

Singaporeans have long marked Aug 9 by singing National Day songs with one voice. At this year's parade, they went one step further by hand-signing the lyrics together.

Last night's parade - the first in Kallang in a decade - was symbolic in signalling the nation Singapore aspires to be: where everyone, including those with disabilities and the disadvantaged, is embraced.

Some 150 participants with special needs led the 55,000 spectators at the National Stadium in signing along to the classic songs Home and Count On Me, Singapore.

The signers, from seven voluntary welfare organisations, had special needs ranging from visual and hearing impairments to physical and intellectual disabilities. The crowd gestured in unison, a poignant call for Singaporeans to be more caring and inclusive as a society.

Yesterday's celebration of 51 years of independence was also the first at the National Stadium after the former stadium was torn down 10 years ago. The audience did not miss a beat in celebrating this return with ripples of red and white, leaping to their feet and roaring as the Kallang Wave swept through the very arena where it was born.

This year's venue, with its closed domed roof, meant favourites like the freefalling Red Lions and fighter jet displays had to be shelved. But there were new surprises.

Giant suspended props and aerialists dazzled the audience, who were awed by a gripping re-enactment of the Singapore Stone legend. Actors representing forefathers from various civilisations who sank roots here then twirled around in colourful ethnic costumes.

True to the theme, Building Our Singapore Of Tomorrow, the show cast its gaze to the future. Drones, flying dancers in LED suits, laser lights and giant floating buildings bathed in 3D projections dominated the stage, in a testament to the country's commitment to innovation.

At one point, a flying unicorn and a young boy, symbols of Singapore's dreams for the future, soared above the crowd.