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Government Support and Initiatives for Seniors to cope with rising cost of living

Type: Parliamentary Questions

Topic(s): Financial Assistance & Social Support

Published on 04 July 2023

Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the past five years, what is the total amount of support, including financial assistance, healthcare programmes and social support initiatives, that the Government has provided to our seniors; (b) whether there are any plans in place to further assist seniors in coping

with the rising cost of living; and (c) if so, what are the details of these initiatives.

Answer

1. Based on data from the Department of Statistics, the estimated total amount of Government support provided between 2018 and 2022 to resident households with at least one Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident senior aged 65 years and above was $25.7B. This covered relevant healthcare, social support and housing related government transfers that households with seniors benefitted from, such as the GST Voucher scheme, Assurance Package, Government top-ups to CPF, Pioneer and Merdeka Generation Packages, ComCare assistance, and Silver Support.

2. The Government has introduced measures to help Singaporeans cope with cost of living concerns, such as the enhancements to the Assurance Package. Eligible seniors received up to $700 cash support in June 2023 from the Cost-of-Living Special Payment and Cost-of-Living Seniors’ Bonus. Upcoming support includes the GSTV-Cash payments of up to $700, GSTV-MediSave top-ups of up to $450 in August 2023, and Assurance Package Cash payouts of up to $600 in December 2023.

3. Beyond cash support and subsidies, the Government will continue to work together with our community partners, such as the Silver Generation Office, to jointly engage and extend support to our seniors as needed.