Singapore Budget 2015: Health Minister outlines plans for successful ageing

SINGAPORE - The Health Ministry is working on ways to help seniors enjoy their golden years, including giving them the opportunity to learn new things or volunteer their skills.

These are the things that the elderly have said they hope to do, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on Thursday in Parliament.

He was sharing the findings of focus group discussions on the topic of successful ageing, which involved more than 1,300 Singaporeans.

"At the community level, seniors also enjoy social activities with their families and friends and suggested having more spaces and programmes in the community to support these interactions," he said.

-- GRAPHIC: MINISTRY OF HEALTH

These suggestions will be studied by the various ministries and developed under the Action Plan for Successful Ageing.

For example, the Health Ministry is working with the Education Ministry to study how to expand the scope and scale of learning opportunities.

It is also working with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth to make volunteering more accessible and meaningful.

Details will be announced when the action plan is ready later this year.

As part of this year's SG50 celebrations, Mr Gan added that the Health Ministry (MOH) has teamed up with the Singapore Business Federation to offer special benefits to seniors.

These include dining discounts, free or discounted entry to places of attraction, as well as discounted hotel stays and travel packages.

It also includes free courses offered by the Council for Third Age's senior learning providers.

linettel@sph.com.sg

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