Illustrative image (Source: ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.com) Singapore (VNA) – Long-term disability insurance will become compulsory for people born from 1980 onwards in Singapore after the country’s Parliament passed the CareShield Life and Long-term Care Bill on September 2.
In mid-2020, all Singaporeans aged between 30 and 40 will automatically become part of a new national scheme called CareShield Life. After that, everyone turning 30 will automatically join the scheme.
The Singaporean Government will provide premium subsidies of up to 30 percent for up to two-thirds of households in the country.
Singaporeans considered severely disabled (those cannot independently perform three out of six specific activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing, dressing, transferring (from the chair to bed, for instance), going to the toilet, and walking or moving around) joining CareShield Life will receive at least 600 SGD per month for the length of their disability. The payouts will go up by 2 percent per year for the first five years.
The scheme will also be compulsory for Singaporeans who live overseas, including those who do not plan to return home. This is because the payout is in cash and can be sent to them.
People born in or before 1979 have the option to join CareShield Life a year later, from mid-2021.
The Government will give up to 2,500 SGD to encourage older people to join. The Pioneer and Merdeka generations will get an additional 1,500 SGD, giving them a total of 4,000 SGD. These apply only if they join the scheme within the first two years.
People on ElderShield who do not want to up-grade will continue to be covered under the existing scheme.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said those who want higher payouts can buy supplementary schemes from private insurance companies.
The Bill paves the way for the Government to take over the existing ElderShield insurance run by three insurance companies.
ElderShield payouts are lower and limited to a maximum of six years, even if the person remains disabled for longer. So far, 153 million SGD of the 3.5 billion SGD worth of premiums collected has been paid out in claims. This is because the vast majority of policyholders are still young.
The Bill also allows the Central Provident Fund Board and the Agency for Integrated Care, which will jointly manage CareShield Life, to access people's disability information.-VNA
VNA
