The Ministry of Health's (MOH) letter ("Medisave remains vital for healthcare needs"; last Friday) misses the point I had raised earlier ("Reduce Medisave Minimum Sum for pioneers"; July 6): that the Medisave Minimum Sum is excessive for civil service retirees and the pioneer generation in relation to the general population.

That Medisave is needed to help meet out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare is not disputed. What is questionable is the amount of the Minimum Sum.

The majority of these people would, in all likelihood, remain relatively healthy and not incur large medical expenses during their remaining lifetime. Others who need more healthcare, however, have either their civil service or pioneer generation medical benefits, or even both, to cover a substantial part of such costs.

Thus, the requirement for everyone to set aside the same Minimum Sum lacks flexibility.

This one-size-fits-all approach puts at a disadvantage those who can ill afford to leave surplus money idling in their Medisave account. The extra cash could instead be better utilised for other, more pressing retirement needs.

I hope the relevant authorities will reconsider the matter favourably.

Andrew Seow Chwee Guan