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SINGAPORE – CareShield Life, offering lifetime payments of at least $ 600 per month for severe disability requiring long-term care, will begin on October 1 of this year.
It will be mandatory for all residents born in 1980 or later, in other words, for people who are 40 years old or younger this year.
Under the scheme, they will start paying annual premiums using their Medisave accounts when they turn 30 and stop paying at age 67, which means paying a total of 38 premiums.
They are still covered for the rest of their lives even after they stop paying premiums.
On October 1, everyone between the ages of 30 and 40 will start paying premiums and will be included in the national long-term care insurance plan.
People who don’t have enough money in their Medisave can use their spouse’s or an approved relative’s Medisave money.
There is also a government subsidy.
Low- to middle-income residents, who make up two-thirds of households, will receive up to a 30 percent subsidy for their premiums.
Singaporeans still unable to pay their premiums can apply for extra help from the Government.
There is also a transition grant of up to $ 250 for everyone who joins the scheme in the first five years.
If they develop a serious disability that entitles them to payment, they stop paying premiums even if they are under the last premium payment age of 67 years.
Since it provides universal coverage, anyone with a severe disability at the age of 30 to join must pay only the first premium to qualify for lifetime payments.
The payment amount will increase over the years, starting at $ 600 a month this year. This is to ensure that the payment is sufficient to cover the rising costs.
During the first five years, both premiums and payments will increase 2% per year.
In the year of release, premiums for 30-year-olds start at $ 206 a year for men and $ 253 for women.
The amount of premiums and future payments will be decided by the CareShield Life Council, which was established in April of this year.
However, once a person begins to collect a payment, that amount becomes fixed for the person and will not increase, even if the amount of the scheme payment increases in the future.
Similarly, the payment amount will be frozen at the amount in effect the year a person pays the last premium at age 67.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a statement on Friday (August 28): “As our population ages, we want to ensure that Singaporeans continue to have accessible and affordable long-term care.”
“With CareShield Life, Singaporeans with severe disabilities can be assured that they will receive financial support for life.”
Severe disability is defined as the need for help in at least three of these activities of daily living: eating, dressing, going to the bathroom, bathing, moving or walking, and moving from bed to chair or vice versa.
Gan said that together with ElderFund, which helps low-income Singaporeans with severe disabilities, “these plans will collectively improve support for long-term care costs.”
Those who are on an ElderShield scheme may want to upgrade as their current insurance pays a lump sum for a fixed number of years.
Details of how senior residents can join CareShield Life will be released next year. It will not be mandatory for them.
Those who choose to join will have to pay additional premiums, but the government has already announced that it will provide subsidies to help them.
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