Age Well SG: Singapore sets aside $800 million from FY2024 to FY2028 to help seniors age well at home, in their communities

Age Well Sg to Support Seniors to Age Actively and Independently In the Community

By Joyce Teo, Senior Health Correspondent, The Straits Times, 16 Nov 2023

More seniors will be supported to age well in the community under a programme that will set aside $800 million over five years for active ageing centres to expand their outreach and increase the range and quality of programmes.

Announcing the increased funding and other details of a multi-ministry Age Well SG programme on Thursday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said: “For many seniors, their biggest enemy is social isolation and loneliness. That’s when your health really deteriorates. We want them to be socially connected.”

He was speaking at a press conference at the NTUC Health Active Ageing Centre in Lengkok Bahru, Bukit Merah, on Thursday.

There will also be improvements made to housing and streets under the Age Well SG programme, which is also spearheaded by the Ministry of National Development (MND) and Ministry of Transport.

Singapore is ageing rapidly. By 2030, it will have more than 900,000 seniors aged 65 and above, with an increasing number living alone.

Mr Ong said each active ageing centre’s annual budget hovers around $400,000 and the fund injection would lead to a budget rise of at least 50 per cent.

“With greater resourcing, we also have higher expectations for agencies now,” he added. “It is not difficult to fill out an AAC (active ageing centre) with the same visitors every day. It is much more difficult to be able to reach out to the great majority of seniors all living around (the AAC) and able to engage them in meaningful ways.”

The activities at the AACs are meant to keep seniors healthy, but they must also suit the preferences of those living in the vicinity, he said. Communal dining is one activity that allows them to make friends.

Active ageing centres will also work with community partners such as Sport Singapore or the People’s Association, and make use of all the spaces in the community, including coffee shops, pavilions and community clubs.

They will need to work closely with healthcare clusters to implement health screening services in the community and integrate with the Healthier SG preventive health strategy to keep Singaporeans healthy.

At the NTUC Health Active Ageing Centre in Lengkok Bahru, for instance, there is a weekly community health post manned by nurses and a well-being coordinator from Singapore General Hospital, who can help seniors with, say, smoking cessation, counselling and advance care planning, or connect them with home care services.

Active ageing centres will be supported by Silver Generation or SG ambassadors and new senior volunteers whom they can recruit.

The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will roll out a programme to train senior volunteers to run programmes at active ageing centres or befriend seniors at risk of social isolation.

Mr Ong said the aim is to double the number of senior volunteers trained by AIC to around 4,000 by 2025, up from around 1,900 Silver Generation ambassadors at the moment.

“Volunteerism is a very important way for seniors to feel that they can continue to contribute to society and the people around. It will be a core function of the AACs to drive senior volunteerism,” he added.

While active ageing centres are meant for seniors who are well, those with care needs can look forward to a wider range of solutions. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and AIC, with support from the Manpower Ministry, have launched applications for a sandbox scheme to explore the viability of new stay-in shared caregiving models in the private sector.

Five companies, including one that offers assisted living in houses, have been identified for the sandbox scheme, with the aim of servicing an estimated 800 seniors. The models will be reviewed within two years, and, if they work, they will be scaled up, Mr Ong said.

A shared caregiving model may see a few seniors living together in the same flat. They form a new kind of family, a social circle, and can support one another, he added.

“At the same time, within this new household of a few seniors, you can have caregivers at less than the ratio of one to one... And that way, we’ll also reduce the manpower needed to deliver the care services,” he said.

Participating companies will be eligible for work permit quotas and foreign manpower concessions to give them the flexibility of recruiting caregivers from traditional and non-traditional sources.

For seniors who may have to undergo repeated assessments at multiple care providers, MOH will introduce a single point of contact to coordinate all their care needs.

This will happen progressively from the second half of 2024, and will provide the seniors and their caregivers with a more seamless care journey.

The coordinating provider will use a standardised care assessment tool to plan for a senior’s care needs, which will reduce the need for multiple assessments and unnecessary referrals by different care providers.

For instance, a senior who is discharged from hospital after a fall can be referred to an active ageing centre, which will be his single point of contact.

The centre can arrange for him to receive home personal care and senior care centre services provided by a different centre.

And, from April next year, caregivers will be able to tap up to $400 in Caregivers’ Training Grant per year, double the $200 currently. They can also use their SkillsFuture Credit to pay for eligible caregiver courses.

Another part of Age Well SG involves improvements to the living environment. National Development Minister Desmond Lee said a bigger, more concerted push will be made to address seniors’ needs in the built environment.

At home, seniors will get more senior-friendly features, including bigger easy-to-press switches, home fire alarm devices and foldable shower seats in their Housing Board (HDB) flats, as MND expands the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme into EASE 2.0, he added at the press conference.

A wireless alert alarm system will be progressively expanded to all seniors living in public rental housing, many of whom lack family support.

Outside the home, senior-centric upgrading works will be progressively rolled out in more than 20 older precincts with a high density of seniors, including Ang Mo Kio and Bukit Merah.

These include enhancements such as barrier-free access ramps and amenities like fitness trails.

To provide Singaporeans with more assisted-living options, MND, MOH and HDB will launch up to 30 Community Care Apartment projects by 2030.

These flats pair senior-friendly housing with on-site social activities and care services that can be customised according to their needs.

The first Community Care Apartment residents will move in next year, when their Bukit Batok flats are ready.

Singapore’s second Community Care Apartment project, in Queensway, was launched in late 2022.

A third one in Bedok will be available in the upcoming HDB Build-To-Order sales exercise in December.

By 2030, all towns will have “friendly streets”, with features such as kerbless crossings and lower speed limits as well as wider and more accessible footpaths, said Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat at the press conference.

Having safe roads, friendly streets and accessible facilities will give seniors the confidence to move around, he added.

$1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package: Additional payment of up to $200 cash for 2.5 million eligible adult Singaporeans in December 2023

$1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package to provide more relief for Singaporean households, especially lower- to middle-income families

Extra $200 CDC vouchers for Singaporean households in 2024

By Jean Iau and Natasha Ann Zachariah, The Straits Times, 28 Sep 2023

Some 2.5 million adult Singaporeans will receive an additional cash payout of up to $200 in December, and every Singaporean household will receive an extra $200 in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers in 2024 to help with the rising cost of living.

These support measures, among others, are part of a $1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package to provide relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income families. They build on the measures announced at Budget 2023.

The measures include an $800 million enhancement to the Assurance Package (AP) and the AP will now be more than $10 billion.

Announcing the support package on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong acknowledged that many Singaporeans are anxious about the overall economic outlook, price increases and the impact on their cost of living.

“The Government is committed to supporting Singaporeans through these uncertain times,” said Mr Wong, adding that it will not be dipping into the past reserves for the package.

“As Prime Minister said at the National Day Rally recently, the Ministry of Finance has been studying how we can do more, to provide better support for Singaporeans.”

Mr Wong noted that the measures will cushion the impact of higher utility bills arising from the increases in the price of water, and also the upcoming increase in carbon tax.

AP cash special payment

The additional payment of up to $200 cash for 2.5 million eligible adult Singaporeans will be disbursed in December 2023, together with the existing AP cash component.

In total, eligible adult Singaporeans will receive up to $800 cash in December 2023. This will provide more support to lower- and middle-income adult Singaporeans.

Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2024 who own no more than one property, and have an assessable income of $34,000 or less for the Year of Assessment 2022, will receive an additional $200, on top of the $600 under the earlier announced AP cash payment.

Those in this group who have an assessable income of more than $34,000 and up to $100,000 will receive an additional $150 on top of the $350 payout from the existing AP.

Those who own more than one property, or have an assessable income of more than $100,000, will not receive an additional payout under the AP cash special payment, but will receive $200 from the existing AP cash component.

CDC vouchers

Every Singaporean household will get an additional $200 in CDC vouchers in 2024, bringing the total amount of CDC vouchers for each Singaporean household to $500 in 2024.

The $200 worth of additional CDC vouchers will be spilt in half, with $100 of these vouchers allocated for spending at participating heartland merchants and hawkers, and $100 for spending at participating supermarkets.

The 2024 CDC vouchers should be claimed digitally at go.gov.sg/cdcv from Jan 3, 2024. The vouchers can be claimed at any time during their validity period. They will expire at the end of 2024.

S&CC rebates

Some 950,000 Singaporean HDB households will receive an additional one-off 0.5-month service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebate in January 2024, together with the regular S&CC rebates.

This will, on average, fully offset the S&CC increase in the first year of increases for one- to four-room Housing Board flats and about 85 per cent for larger HDB flats, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

U-Save rebates

The 950,000 Singaporean HDB households will also receive an additional $20 per quarter in U-Save rebates from January 2024 to December 2025, or a total of $80 a year for two years.

These rebates will be disbursed together with the regular U-Save rebates, and will cushion the impact of the carbon tax and water price increases in 2024 and 2025.

Over these two years, the additional U-Save rebates will, on average, fully offset the increase in utility bills for one- to two-room HDB flats. For three- to four-room HDB flats, they will offset about 80 per cent of the increase in utility bills, and for larger flats, about 65 per cent.

On average, this translates to 3- to 4- room HDB flats paying about $2 more per month, and 5-room and larger HDB flats paying about $4 more per month.

Public transport support measures

There will be additional subsidies of about $300 million in 2024 to cover the deferred fare adjustment quantum of 15.6 per cent that will be carried over to future fare review exercises, as announced by the Public Transport Council on Sept 18.

The additional subsidies will help to moderate the increase in fares and pay for the higher costs of providing public transport services due to the continued increase in energy prices in 2022, core inflation and strong wage growth, said the MOF.

Resident households with a monthly household income per person of not more than $1,600 will each receive public transport vouchers worth $50.

The vouchers, which will be disbursed from end-December 2023, can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly travel or concession passes.

Mr Wong said on Thursday that while the goods and services tax increase was already planned for, there were certain things that could not have been anticipated, such as some of the recent price increases, and “also the more uncertain economic outlook, possible disruptions to energy and food supplies... and the uncertainties in the global environment”.

He said the Government has been monitoring income growth very closely, and there is a likelihood that real income growth will moderate in 2023, because employers are more cautious about salary increments.

“These are the considerations that motivate us to consider whether or not there ought to be more help for Singaporeans, particularly households and families (in) the lower- and middle-income segments,” he added.

“And we’ve decided, after looking at all the factors, looking at our fiscal position, we will be able to provide within our budget for such an additional package.”

Mr Wong was also asked about the need to raise prices for water now, and the GST, which will increase to 9 per cent next year.

He explained that there are measures such as the AP in place so the majority of Singaporeans will not feel the impact of the GST rise for a few years.

“We don’t want to wait until we are at the very brink (of having) not enough money and then start raising taxes. We want to put in place all the measures that are necessary to ensure sound public finances, not just for one, two years, but for the medium- and longer-term,” he said.

On water, he noted that it is an essential, strategic resource to Singapore.

As a “water-stressed nation”, he said efforts have been made to price water properly to “make sure that consumers understand what the full price of water is.”

National Day Rally 2023: A Better Home, A Brighter Future

From housing to retirement, PM Lee Hsien Loong provides reassurances amid anxieties and storms

By Danson Cheong, The Straits Times, 21 Aug 2023

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sought to reassure Singaporeans on Sunday that his government would continue to take care of their needs, as the country faces mounting global challenges and growing anxiety over jobs, housing and costs of living.

His tone of reassurance ran across all three of his speeches during the National Day Rally at the Institute of Technical Education College Central.

PM Lee lauded Singapore’s efforts in pulling through the Covid-19 pandemic, which he called “the most challenging ordeal for our nation since independence”, and said it is a testament to the country’s indomitable spirit.

But challenges from US-China tensions, the war in Ukraine and global warming have affected the global economic order, disrupted supply chains and food production, and will especially hurt small trading nations such as Singapore, he noted.

These will contribute to anxieties over bread-and-butter concerns. PM Lee warned that Singaporeans should expect higher food prices and more job disruptions in the future. Inflation is at last coming down but “will probably stay higher than what we were used to”.

He promised that the Government will weather this storm together with Singaporeans.

During the rally, which lays out the Government’s priorities and is seen as the most important political speech of the year, PM Lee also unveiled measures to support Singaporeans.

These include a $7 billion Majulah Package that will benefit about 1.4 million older Singaporeans, especially those in their 50s and early 60s.

This is a group PM Lee called “young seniors”, who are in a particularly sandwiched phase of life where they might have to care for both the young and the old in their families.

He said to them: “Beyond the daily cost-of-living pressures, you know that retirement is creeping up on you, and you wonder, ‘Will I have enough to get by? Can I cope?’ But don’t worry, the Government will help you. You will not be left behind.”

The new Majulah Package, to help those born in 1973 or earlier meet their retirement needs, will consist of three components:

– An Earn and Save bonus, where the Government will credit up to $1,000 a year into the Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts of lower- and middle-income workers.

– A one-time CPF bonus of up to $1,500 for Singaporeans who have not reached the Basic Retirement Sum in their CPF balances.

– A one-time MediSave top-up of $1,000.

More details will be released in 2024, PM Lee said. He added that the Government will also enhance existing retirement and income supplement schemes.

“Taken together, these improvements will help seniors to meet basic retirement needs, especially for lower- and middle-income Singaporeans, so you can have greater peace of mind in your golden years,” he added.

There will also be more support for those who lose their jobs, said PM Lee, adding that a scheme is being developed that will offer temporary financial support to retrenched workers while they upgrade their skills.

This is part of the Forward Singapore exercise driven by the fourth generation of leaders who will share further details soon, he added. Turning to housing, PM Lee assured Singaporeans that the Government will keep Housing Board (HDB) flats affordable, while maintaining a good social mix in every town and ensuring the system is fair for everyone.

Record-high HDB flat prices have fuelled anxieties among Singaporeans in recent months over the cost of home ownership.

In order to ensure HDB flats remain affordable, new Build-To-Order (BTO) projects will be classified as Standard, Plus or Prime – depending on their location.

This will replace HDB’s current classification of projects as mature or non-mature, and kick in from the second half of 2024.

A Prime flat, in the “choicest and most central locations”, will have the most subsidies and tightest restrictions. These subsidies and restrictions scale progressively downwards with Plus and Standard flats.

The idea is to moderate the higher prices of flats in choice locations while imposing stricter sale conditions on these units.

PM Lee gave the example of how Plus flats will receive more subsidies over Standard flats, but also will face more restrictive sale conditions. He cited a 10-year minimum occupation period before any sale, a subsidy-recovery clause to claw back extra discounts upon such a sale, and an income ceiling on resale buyers.

Another change: Singles will be able to buy BTO two-room flexi flats across all three of the new categories – they are currently restricted to BTO units in non-mature estates.

“We will build a good mix of projects within and across regions, to cater to different needs and budgets. And that is how we can fulfil our commitment to keep high-quality HDB flats accessible and affordable to you and to your children for a very long time to come,” PM Lee said.

On the issue of ageing, PM Lee added that the Government will take steps to prepare for what he called a “super-aged society”.

These will include efforts such as investing more resources so seniors can install fittings, including foldable shower seats and wider toilet entrances at home; revamping housing estates so they are more senior-friendly, and building more flats that have senior care and community facilities integrated.

PM Lee, who was delivering his 19th National Day Rally speech, also said his succession plans are back on track after they were disrupted by the pandemic.

He also sought to allay concerns over recent political scandals involving People’s Action Party politicians. Transport Minister S. Iswaran is under investigation for corruption, and Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and backbench MP Cheng Li Hui resigned in July after their affair was made public.

“Let me assure you: These incidents will not delay my timetable for renewal. We are on track,” PM Lee added.

Future generations of PAP leaders must continue to keep the political system clean and incorruptible, he said, adding that he has every confidence in Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his team.

Thanking Singaporeans for their support, he urged them to give DPM Wong and his team their “fullest support, now and after they take over”.

“The Singapore story has been an unlikely one from the start. Our nation is still young, and will always be tiny. We will forever be an unlikely nation, created out of the sheer collective will of our people. Nobody expected us to survive, much less to flourish, but, each time, we beat the odds; each time, we showed the world what Singapore can be,” said PM Lee.

“It has been an exceptional story but I believe the best parts are still to be written.”

The asset-rich, cash-poor have a housing dilemma

The elderly might not downsize and monetise their homes for retirement income. Their concerns centre on preserving the value of their flat and ageing in place.

By Sing Tien Foo, Published The Straits Times, 12 Aug 2023

Are homes nest eggs for retirement? It turns out the answer is not straightforward.

Delivering his National Day message this week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the Government’s desire to refresh its approach to public housing, with a special effort on adapting Housing Board estates and flats to serve a rapidly ageing population.

Although he had referred to physical infrastructure, community spaces and active ageing centres, he also highlighted the importance of retirement adequacy. More details will be announced at the upcoming National Day Rally, he said.

Ageing population, ageing homes

PM Lee’s remarks are timely. By 2030, one in four Singaporean residents will hit 65. Today, only one in three in this age group is employed. We should technically see more monetising their homes to fund their retirement.

In Singapore, the HDB has two schemes by which elderly home owners can unlock the value of their homes – the Silver Housing Bonus (SHB) and Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS).

SHB incentivises eligible households to right-size their homes. If they downsize to a three-room or smaller HDB flat, use the proceeds of the sale of their home to top up their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Retirement Account (RA) and join the CPF Life lifelong annuity scheme, they can receive a cash bonus of up to $30,000.

Similar to a reverse mortgage, the LBS allows seniors aged 65 and older to sell the tail-end of the lease to HDB while continuing to live in their homes. The proceeds will go to their CPF RA and CPF Life, with the home owner receiving a monthly income for life.

Recognising that the LBS holds the key to helping more Singaporeans unlock the value of their homes in their old age, the scheme, which was introduced in 2009 for those living in three-room and smaller flats, was subsequently expanded to include residents in all HDB flat types.

But is this thinking one-sided? Based on the 2022 population statistics of the 547,598 HDB dwellers aged 65 and older, and assuming that each household comprises two such dwellers, about 274,000 households are eligible for LBS. However, as at December 2022, only about 9,700 households – or 3.5 per cent of the estimated eligible households – have taken up the scheme.

The low response rate for the LBS betrays the popular sentiment among elderly Singaporeans that may become a problem for retirement adequacy: People seem unwilling to trade their homes for retirement income.

They are asset-rich but cash-poor

Instead, many middle-aged and retired home owners, usually referred to as the asset-rich, cash-poor segment, are more concerned if their homes will preserve their value, even as they stew over whether they can meet their financial needs in old age.

This is a problem because policymakers have long assumed that most Singaporeans purchase homes for capital appreciation, with the wealth accumulated to be freed up in old age.

In this housing life-cycle model, which has a hump-shaped curve, one accumulates wealth with age as the value of a house appreciates and the mortgage is paid off. But as homes age and begin to decline in value, the home owners must at some point sell off the property or find some way to monetise the asset, so that they can live reasonably comfortably in their golden years.

Depending on the amount drawn down, home owners can still bequeath the remaining lease to a loved one. Else, the value of the home is exhausted when its lease runs down to zero.

Persistent accumulation of housing wealth

Why aren’t Singaporeans monetising their homes? The uncertainties associated with life expectancy, bequest motives and medical expenses in old age may encourage many to keep a housing asset intact.

NDP 2023: Onward As One

A celebration to remember

This year's NDP marks first full-scale parade at Padang since 2019, and President Halimah's last as head of state

By Kok Yufeng, The Straits Times, 10 Aug 2023

It was a National Day Parade (NDP) of firsts and lasts as the Padang came alive on Wednesday with light, sound and colour to mark Singapore’s 58th year of independence.

There was a concert-like atmosphere at the annual birthday bash as a 27,000-strong crowd sang along to old and new local tunes.

Their LED-equipped drumsticks lit up the stands as they thumped to the beat with drum kits that came with each NDP funpack.

Many arrived at the Padang well before the festivities kicked off at 5.35pm.

Undeterred by the sweltering heat and enhanced security measures, which included checks on individuals and vehicles, thousands more gathered at nearby Marina Bay.

Some arrived as early as 3pm – about three hours before the party started.

They were well prepared with phones and cameras to capture the experience, including the 10-minute fireworks display at the end of the two-hour parade.

With “Onward As One” as this year’s theme, it was the first time that full-scale NDP celebrations were held at the Padang since 2019, after the Marina Bay floating platform had its swansong parade in 2022.

The floating platform has hosted 11 NDPs since 2007. It will be replaced by NS Square, a permanent structure expected to be completed by end-2026, whereupon it will be the primary venue for future parades.

Wednesday was also the first time since 2019 that the parade and ceremony segment of the NDP featured full-scale physical marching contingents, comprising 1,700 participants from the military, civil defence, youth uniformed groups, and various social and economic groups.

Making its inaugural NDP appearance was the Digital and Intelligence Service, the fourth arm of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which formed one of five guard of honour contingents.

It was also the last NDP for President Halimah Yacob as head of state – her six-year term as president ends on Sept 13.

She received a rousing welcome when she arrived, shortly after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and later inspected the marching contingents commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ragumaran Davindran – the first army supply officer to be given the role.

A 21-gun presidential salute was fired from 25-pounder artillery guns stationed on military rafts near Merlion Park, and a video montage of Madam Halimah’s past NDP involvements as president was later shown as the crowd waved their national flags in tribute.

Before her arrival, NDP attendees were entertained by hosts Joakim Gomez, Hazelle Teo, Eswari Gunasagar and Fauzie Laily, who kept spirits high with games and several rounds of the Padang Wave before the parade went live at 6pm.

Deyi Secondary School’s marching band, decked out in bright pink uniforms, had the crowd at the edge of their seats as 16-year-old drum major Caspar Ho executed a flawless series of mace throws.

Moments later, spectators watched in awe as eight Red Lion parachutists made freefalls from a height of about 3km – all landing safely to resounding cheers.

Then came the marching-in of the 34 parade contingents, the state flag fly-past and a bomb burst manoeuvre performed by a group of F-16D+ fighter jets in a soaring salute to the nation.

There was still more aerial action to come as the Republic of Singapore Air Force put on a thrilling display to commemorate its 55th anniversary. A highlight was a new cross turn and vertical climb stunt to signify progress and prosperity for the nation.

Another addition to 2023’s NDP was the Total Defence Parade, which involved 650 participants.

With six large, colourful floats modelled after everyday objects such as an umbrella and a barbell – each representing a pillar of Total Defence – the new segment gave a fresh, whimsical spin to the national defence concept.

This was accompanied by a drive-past of military and civil defence assets from the SAF, Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

As night fell and the show segment of the parade got under way, another unique – if unseen – aspect of 2023’s parade filled the air.

During the show’s second act, titled Our Strength, a subtle floral fragrance with a woody undertone emanated through the stands at the Padang, evoking the scent of a flowering Tembusu tree.

The smell was specially created to accompany a blossoming flower dance by the Soka Gakkai Singapore Women’s Division and local dance troupe Dance Inspiration.

Those watching at home were given an augmented viewing experience, with each of the NDP show’s four acts featuring themed floor projections and 3D effects.

At the show’s climax, fireworks erupted over the Padang as screens showed an animated golden lion leaping skywards, symbolising Singapore’s youth leading the future of the country.

An energetic rendition of this year’s theme song Shine Your Light and a medley of past NDP songs followed, before everyone recited the national pledge and sang the National Anthem.

Ms Mira Lee, 28, who works in the events industry, said it was nice to see fellow Singaporeans out in full force despite the hot weather.

“Plenty of work has clearly gone into this to showcase some of Singapore’s best, and I am grateful for the show they put on,” she added.

Ms Joey Lim, 31, who last attended an NDP two decades ago, said she especially enjoyed the show segment because it was vibrant and colourful.

“The parade was just as great as last time, and I hope I can attend it every year,” said the administrative worker, who came with her family. “It has been a memorable day for me.”

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's 2023 National Day Message