Worried About Retirement? For Those Who Are Struggling, Here Are Some Help You Can Get

If you’re following CPF Board’s social media accounts, you will realise the mantra “working hard for your golden years” being included in many visuals and social media postings.

In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a compulsory comprehensive savings plan for Singaporeans to fund their retirement. While it provides a safety net for Singaporeans to have a stream of income when they retire, it may not be enough to tide a person through retirement, especially with some elderly Singaporeans falling through the cracks.

A few months ago, I was sitting in a swanky oriental-looking bar along Emerald Hill, having a beer with my ex-professor. At that time, we talked about retirement, and how a study found that retirees need a monthly income of at least $1,379- an amount experts recently recommended as necessary for a basic standard of living.

The study, which gathered people aged 55 and above in focus groups to talk about what they considered to be their basic standard of living, found that a single person aged 65 and above would need at least $1,379 a month.

In a survey commissioned by The Straits Times, 60% of retirees say that they have at least $1,370/mth to tide them through retirement, while 40% falls short from having that necessary amount for a basic standard of living.

As it turns out, working hard all your life does not mean you will have enough saved to enjoy your golden years– a distressing outcome brought to light by this Straits Times article.

In Singapore, the idea of poverty, or people struggling with low income, isn’t always expressed in the most overt of ways: there are few beggars on our sparkling clean streets, and those who are homeless only appear to sleep on the streets late into the night. Though mostly concealed to the public eye, there are many who struggle to make ends meet, even when they’re well into their golden years. 

TL;DR: What Kind Of Help Can You Get If You’re ‘Poor’?

For low-income elderly, there is quite an extensive range of support you can get both from the government and external organisations. While this may not be a complete solution to giving you a comfortable life, being aware of it may help close certain income gaps and improve your living conditions.

Government Subsidies Available For Low Income Elderly: 

• Healthcare
  • Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS)
  • Medifund Silver 
• Eldercare
  • Intermediate and Long Term Care Subsidies 
  • Eldershield
• Work and Retirement 
  • Workfare Income Supplement 
• Living Expenses 
  • GST Voucher 
  • Com-Care Long-Term Assistance 
  • Com Care Short and Medium Term Assistance 
• Transport 
  • Senior Citizen Public Transport Concession Card 
• Housing 
  • Lease Buyback Scheme 
  • Silver Housing Bonus 
  • HDB 2 Room Flexi Scheme 
• Other Forms of Help/Benefits For Low Income Elderly 
  • Senior Home Care Services 
  • Meals On Wheels 
  • Bread Run 
  • Willing Hearts 
  • Senior Mobility and Enabling Fund 
  • Subsidised Homecare 

Government Schemes And Subsidies Available For Low-Income Elderly

Source: Ministry of Communications and Information 

Silver Support Scheme 

The Silver Support Scheme provides additional support for elderly Singaporeans who had low incomes through life and who now have little or no family support. There is no need to apply for Silver Support.

Who is it for

The Silver Support Scheme is targeted at the bottom 20% of Singaporeans aged 65 and above.

To be eligible for Silver Support, you must be a Singapore citizen aged 65 and above, and must meet all of the following criteria:

• Total CPF contributions of not more than $70,000 by age 55. Self-employed persons should also have an average annual net trade income of not more than $22,800 when you were between the age of 45 and 54.
• Live in an HDB flat that is 5-room or smaller.
• Not own, and not have a spouse who owns, a 5-room or larger HDB flat or private property or multiple properties.
• Live in a household with a monthly income per person of not more than $1,100.

Singaporeans will be automatically assessed for their eligibility to receive Silver Support payouts.

Eligible elderly will receive Silver Support according to the type of HDB flat that they live in:

You can find out more about the Silver Support Scheme on the MOM website. 

Other Forms Of Benefits And Help For Low-Income Elderly 

1. Senior Home Care Services

As we grow old, it comes with health problems that can be especially burdensome for those low-income Singaporean elderly. With Senior Home Care Services offered by a number of companies islandwide, senior citizens can avail of adequate support that ranges from home maintenance to medical escort and even physical rehabilitation. Some of the reputable home care agencies include NTUC’s Care@home, Homage, and Tetsuyu Home Care.

2. Meals On Wheels – TOUCH Community Service

Frail and home-bound elderly can subscribe to Meals On Wheels– a meal delivery programme to meet the daily needs of the home-bound elderly. For the cost of just $2.50 a meal, the elderly can request for nutrition-packed meals that caters to those with specific dietary requirements.

To qualify, seniors must be 60 years or older, with a total household income of less than $1,500 per month or less than $450 per capita (per person per household).

For those who would like to volunteer with them, do check out their website.

3. Bread Run – Food From The Heart

The Bread Run program was initiated with an aim to feed the needy with safe-for-consumption bread that would otherwise been thrown away.

Here’s how it works:

Food from the Heart partners with more than 100 bakeries, and collect bread that has served its commercial time on the shelves. These excess bread are collected, packed, picked up and donated to low-income, needy or homeless individuals. Bread is usually consumed during breakfast and tea break at welfare homes, or re-packed and given out as rations to individual families.

For those who would require the provision of bread, you can indicate your interest on this form.

Interested volunteers can also indicate their interest on their form.

4. Willing Hearts

Willing Hearts operates a soup kitchen that prepares, cooks and distributes about 5,000 daily meals to over 40 locations island-wide, 365 days a year.

In addition, Willing Hearts extends the following services to its beneficiaries:
– Dental Care
– Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatments
– Optical Care
– Legal Aid
– Tuition Services for needy Primary school-going children
– Bereavement Services

For low-income individuals with are in need of such services, you can contact them via this website.

5. Senior Mobility and Enabling Fund

The Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) provides holistic support for seniors to age in place within the community by extending subsidies to Singaporean seniors:

• Requiring mobility and assistive devices for daily independent living and to remain ambulant in the community
• Receiving government funded home care and care within the community, needing home healthcare items for their care

This scheme gives you access to assistive devices and home healthcare items at a subsidised rate.

Assistive Devices 

• Refers to items that help an elderly person move around, such as walking stick, wheelchair and pushchair.
• It also includes things that an elderly person may need at home, such as commode, pressure relief cushion and hospital bed as well as spectacles and hearing aids.

These subsidies are provided through application only. Reimbursement for any purchase prior to an approved application is strictly not allowed.

• Approach the therapist or social worker to assist you in your application for SMF Ass​istive Devices if you are under the care of any hospitals, rehabilitation centre or senior care centre. 
• If you need to apply SMF subsidy for hearing aids and are not currently under the care of any hospital:
  • You may obtain a referral letter from a polyclinic or CHAS GP for a subsidised hearing assessment at the public hospital. The audiologist will assess and assist with your SMF application.

6. Subsidised Home Care – Active Global Caregivers 

Active Global Caregivers provides affordable home personal care from $3.20/hr (subsidised rate), as well as other services including home nursing, medical and therapy, to help support frail and home bound elderly who need assistance with their daily activities.

Home Personal Care Service includes assistance with medication, performing simple maintenance exercises, personal hygiene, nd elder-sitting for low -income elderly in need of such services. 

To find out more about their extensive range of services, you can check out this brochure, or their website. 

Helping The Low-Income Elderly Population In Singapore

At the end of the day, everyone’s situation is a little different, and many may fall through the cracks when it comes to obtaining help from schemes and subsidies. If you are aware of any schemes, charities, or government subsidies that will help this group of individuals, do help us expand this list by leaving a comment below. 

 If you have any specific questions regarding this, feel free to leave a question on our Seedly Q&A. Here’s another food for thought you can consider: 

Seedly Discussion: How Can Asset-Rich But Cash Poor Elderly Seek Financial Help?