SINGAPORE - Older Singaporeans will get more help under a new programme that will see more active ageing centres and senior-friendly infrastructure built in neighbourhoods across Singapore.
Existing measures to help seniors meet basic financial needs for retirement – such as the Workfare Income Supplement scheme, Silver Support Scheme and Matched Retirement Savings Scheme – will also get a boost.
In the Forward Singapore report released on Friday, the Government said that although it has been expanding the nation’s aged care infrastructure by building more nursing homes and senior care centres, as well as increasing the capacity of home care services, this is not enough.
“We need more focused efforts to reduce the risk of social isolation of seniors. This is one of the most powerful ways to enable seniors to spend more of their remaining life in good health,” the report said.
“By living among their family, friends and neighbours and participating in social activities and physical exercises, seniors can delay frailty and deterioration of health.”
At present, roughly one in five Singaporeans is aged 65 and older. This proportion will go up to one in four by 2030.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung acknowledged that many seniors will be most concerned with immediate issues such as healthcare costs.
While these are under review, the Government must also take a longer-term view, he said.
He added that social isolation is the biggest enemy of senior citizens and determines their well-being in a “very profound way”.
“If we focus only on immediate problems, we are firefighting every day,” Mr Ong added in Mandarin, using a Chinese idiom that alludes to “the fire burning one’s eyebrows” to describe the pressing issues that seniors currently face.
“But how are we going to prevent fires from breaking out?”
The new programme, called Age Well SG, focuses on preventive care through measures that keep seniors active and social, allowing them to go about their daily activities with greater ease.
One goal is for eight in 10 seniors to have access to activities, such as at active ageing centres near their homes, by 2025. These activities include communal meals and exercise programmes.
To achieve this, volunteers will reach out to seniors near each centre, especially those who live alone.
More senior care centres, which provide custodial day care and rehabilitation services, will be built, alongside more home care options for those who need more help.
The Government aims to improve care coordination by having one provider coordinate a bundle of key services in each region. This ensures seniors have a single touchpoint for their care needs.
Changes to the physical environment will make for safer and more pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods. For one thing, all towns will have features like more pedestrian crossings, wider and more accessible footpaths, and traffic-calming measures. In addition, traffic lights will be programmed to reduce the time it takes to activate the green man and increase the duration of crossing time.
These changes are part of the Friendly Streets initiative, which was launched for trials by the Land Transport Authority earlier in the year in five places, including Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh.
Neighbourhoods and existing homes will be fitted with more senior-friendly amenities and features so that seniors can go about their daily activities more easily and safely. These include revamped linkways, more shelters, barrier-free access ramps and rest points, and colourful signs to help older folk find their way home.
Fitness trails, exercise machines and therapeutic gardens will be installed in more estates to help seniors stay active.
In addition, an improved version of the Enhancement for Active Seniors programme will offer a wider variety of senior-friendly fittings for HDB flats. The existing programme offers grab bars, single-step ramps at entrances and within flats, and slip-resistant treatment for toilet floors.
More senior-friendly housing options will also be made available. These include community care apartments, an assisted living public housing option that gives seniors access to care services, social activities and amenities.
The apartments allow seniors to stay in neighbourhoods they are already familiar with, the report said.
The Government will work with the private sector to offer alternatives such as private assisted living facilities.
Finally, existing schemes to help seniors meet basic retirement needs will be enhanced.
For those with lower incomes, the Workfare Income Supplement scheme will be reviewed and updated to help them build up their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings and achieve their basic retirement needs.
The Silver Support Scheme will also be enhanced to support those with less to retire on.
At present, those with higher incomes can set aside more in their CPF Retirement Account to get higher retirement payouts, up to a cap known as the Enhanced Retirement Sum.
This cap will be raised for those who would like to put more into their accounts for even higher future payouts.
The Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, which provides a dollar-for-dollar matching CPF grant of up to $600 per year for cash top-ups to eligible seniors with lower retirement savings, will get a boost.
In addition, the Majulah Package for Singaporeans in their 50s and early 60s will see this group get a one-time Retirement Savings Bonus if their CPF savings fall below the Basic Retirement Sum.
They will also get a one-time MediSave Bonus to put them in a better position to take care of their future healthcare needs.
