SINGAPORE - Seniors aged 50 and above will now have easier access to government schemes available to them with the launch of a one-stop website that consolidates and explains these schemes simply.
At www.silverschemes.sg, which is also mobile-optimised, seniors can choose from three age groups - 50 to 54, 55-67 and 68 and above - to view a list of schemes available to them. The schemes are further categorised into four areas: financial, work, social and health.
Each scheme has its own webpage that contains a summary of the scheme, its eligibility criteria and a link to more information.
The website was created by the Centre For Seniors (CFS) and launched on Wednesday (Feb 28) by its patron, Mr Lim Boon Heng, who is also the chairman of Temasek Holdings and NTUC Enterprise.
Set up in 2006, CFS is a non-profit, voluntary welfare organisation that manages training programmes, activities and projects that help to promote an active ageing culture.
The idea for the one-stop website came after a CFS survey conducted last year of 140 seniors above 50 revealed most respondents lacked knowledge of government schemes. Many said it was a challenge to keep tabs on the large number of schemes available, which are located on various government websites.
There are currently about 50 government schemes for seniors.
"The low awareness of government schemes can be improved by pushing this website to seniors instead of having them to pull information from several sources," said Ms Lim Sia Hoe, executive director of CFS.
She added that the organisation will continue to hold roadshows once every two months to inform seniors about the website and teach less IT savvy seniors how to use it.
While the website is currently available only in English, Ms Lim said CFS intends to make it available in other languages within the next six months.
There are also plans to expand the platform to include skills training, volunteer and employment opportunities, she said, adding that the website's end goal is to provide a single holistic and integrated platform for seniors.
