About half a million senior citizens can expect to receive their eligibility letter for the Merdeka Generation Package by this week, said the Ministry of Health yesterday.
The letters were mailed to them by the end of last month, it added.
They can also expect to get their Merdeka Generation Package welcome folder and card in the mail from late next month.
The Merdeka Generation Package, announced earlier this year by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in his Budget speech, seeks to offset some of the healthcare costs of ageing Singaporeans.
To qualify, seniors must be born between Jan 1, 1950 and Dec 31, 1959, and have attained Singapore citizenship by end-1996.
Singaporeans who were born by Dec 31, 1949, or who became Singapore citizens by the end of 1996 and did not receive the Pioneer Generation Package, are also eligible.
Since last month, the Silver Generation Office has made efforts to engage Merdeka Generation seniors on the details of the package, as well as connect them to volunteering and learning opportunities.
Qualifying seniors can expect visits from Silver Generation Ambassadors at their homes, workplaces and community nodes where they are likely to gather, such as faith-based organisations and hawker centres, said the ministry.
The Merdeka seniors will receive an annual $200 top-up to their Medisave accounts for five years - from this year to 2023 - with the first top-up to be credited automatically in July this year.
The welcome folders will include details on the package, such as how to redeem the one-off $100 top-up for their PAssion Silver cards.
The Merdeka Generation cards can be used for additional outpatient care subsidies at general practitioner and dental clinics listed in the Community Health Assist Scheme from Nov 1. The card will also entitle them to another 25 per cent off their subsidised bills at polyclinics and public specialist outpatient clinics.
For more details on the package, visit www.merdekageneration.sg
Eligible seniors who have not received their letters may contact the Agency for Integrated Care on 1800-650-6060 for help.
Goh Yan Han
