SINGAPORE - Some 440,000 pioneers will receive letters from the Government this week, informing them of the respective Pioneer Generation Medisave top-ups they will receive in July.
The top-ups range between $200 and $800, and will come up to about $202 million in total, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Sunday.
The Pioneer Generation Medisave top-ups come on top of the Medisave top-ups for older Singaporeans under the GST Voucher Scheme - which is dependent on a person's age, annual value of place of residence, and the number of properties owned - that will be disbursed in August.
For example, an older pioneer who is 85 this year, and who lives in an HDB flat and does not own a second property, will receive a total of $1,250 in Medisave top-ups this year. ($800 from the Pioneer Generation Medisave top-up and $450 from the GST voucher - Medisave).
A younger pioneer who is 71 this year and in similar circumstances will receive a total of $650 in Medisave top-ups this year ($400 from the Pioneer Generation Medisave top-up and $250 from the GST voucher - Medisave).
The letters sent out this week will also remind pioneers of the special subsidies available to them at all Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) clinics, polyclinics, and subsidised specialist outpatient clinics.
Pioneers will also be entitled to special subsidies for MediShield Life (MSHL) premiums, when it is introduced later this year.
Said MOF: "Together with the Pioneer Generation subsidies and Medisave top-ups, pioneers will pay smaller MSHL premiums than they did in previous years, despite the larger benefits that they, like other Singaporeans, will receive under MSHL."
Under the Pioneer Generation Package, pioneers receive Medisave top-ups of $200 to $800 annually for the rest of their life, with the amount based on their birth year.
Pioneers are also entitled to an additional 50 per cent off subsidised treatments at polyclinics and Specialist Outpatient Clinic; special subsidies at General Practitioner (GP) and dental clinics under CHAS; and MediShield Life premium subsidies of between 40 to 60 per cent. Pioneers with moderate to severe functional disabilities also receive cash of $1,200 a year under the Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme.
