Our seniors want to have a piece of mind as they age, and the Government will continue to support our elderly Singaporeans to age gracefully in their golden years.

Here are four things that the Government has put in place for our seniors.

#1: Ensuring employability for older workers

For seniors who prefer to keep active and continue to work, they can do so. The Government has announced that it will raise the retirement and re-employment age to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030. 

Since 2011, employers receive a Special Employment Credit (SEC) when they hire seniors, and it was further enhanced to provide more wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporean workers aged 55 and above.

These measures will help our older workers to continue contributing to Singapore’s workforce while growing their retirement savings.

#2: Ensuring Retirement Adequacy

The Government has raised interest rates on the Central Provident Fund (CPF) account balances and the salary ceiling for CPF contributions since 2016. It will also be raising CPF contribution rates for older workers progressively.  

In addition, the Government also increased the annual pay outs for Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) for older workers to help them save for their retirement.

Other schemes that help with retirement adequacy are Lease Buyback Scheme and the Silver Housing Bonus

#3: Helping elderly with healthcare costs

Back in 2014, the Government introduced the Pioneer Generation Package to thank Singaporeans who turned 65 then for their contribution to the nation. This package which costs $8billion ensures subsidies for eligible seniors – for outpatient care, MediSave top-ups and life-long cash assistance. 

Most recently in 2019, the Merdeka Generation Package (MGP) was also introduced for Singaporeans born in the 1950s, MG seniors to stay active and healthy and provide them better peace of mind over future healthcare costs in their later years.

#4: Community support networks for seniors

Active ageing is key to happy retirement. 

The Community Networks for Seniors scheme, a programme introduced in 2016, involves government bodies, voluntary welfare organisations and volunteers teaming up to visit elderly, getting them involved in active ageing activities, and they receive health and social support when they are frail.

The scheme will go nationwide by this year, which means elderly can look forward to having stronger support networks near where they live.