1 Good afternoon, distinguished guests, partners and friends. I am delighted to join you today as we celebrate our 'Plan Your Legacy Today!' partners' appreciation event and the Office of the Public Guardian's (OPG) 15th anniversary.
2 Today is particularly meaningful as it represents the culmination of our collective efforts to help Singaporeans secure their future through thoughtful legacy planning.
Plan Your Legacy Today!
3 In July 2023, we embarked on the nationwide campaign jointly organised by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), Central Provident Fund Board (CPF), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Public Service Division (PSD). This collaboration reflected our shared commitment to empower Singaporeans to take charge of their future through comprehensive legacy planning. Our focus was to highlight the importance and encourage the adoption of four essential legacy planning tools – Advance Care Planning (ACP), CPF nomination, Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and Will.
4 Our first year was dedicated to extensive ground outreach, particularly focusing on Singaporeans aged 50 and above through roadshows and mobile clinics. We were also heartened to see our partnersroll out their own programmes for their beneficiaries, clients and residents.
5 We strategically pivoted in the second year to focus on building deeper, more meaningful partnerships. We expanded our collaborations within the public service and across various sectors – financial institutions, religious organisations, and grassroots bodies – because we recognise that each sector, (and) every industry, brings about unique strengths and (their) own relationships allows us to reach further and wider across society.
6 Within our public service, I am heartened to see ministries and statutory boards actively promoting legacy planning as part of overall holistic employee well-being and welfare. Many agencies have undertaken commendable initiatives, demonstrating our collective commitment to care for our officers' personal well-being.
7 To ensure our partners are aligned with our legacy planning message and equipped with knowledge of the various tools, the inter-agency workgroup conducted comprehensive training sessions. This has resulted in key changes, with financial institutions seamlessly incorporating legacy planning into their client conversations, making it a natural part of financial planning discussions. An example would be the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS) where they have been actively organising LPA talks and certification sessions. About 1,113 LPAs were certified in an event held by them in August, making it the most number of LPA certifications within a day. Our constituencies have also brought such services into the community, working closely with certificate issuers and service providers to conduct informative talks and practical follow-up sessions for residents. Similarly, our Community Care and healthcare practitioners continue to be strong stewards in supporting their seniors and clients to complete their ACP, CPF nominations and LPA.
8 I am proud of the remarkable contributions from our Institutes of Higher Learning as well. Their students have actively conducted educational talks and provided guidance for online LPA applications, with support from their lecturers, of course, especially for our seniors. The support from in-house counsels from various banks has also been invaluable, offering their expertise to both students and individuals throughout this journey. This ensured that the process is both accessible and properly understood.
9 The tremendous success of our recent Plan Your Legacy Today! event, which reached out to over 6,500 attendees over two days in July, stands as a testament to our collective cooperation and partnerships. So I say a big thank you, to all of you, all our partners here today. Thank you very much for supporting us and amplifying the importance of legacy planning to all our Singaporeans.
10 As Singapore progresses towards becoming a super-aged society, your continued support becomes ever more critical. Through our collective efforts, I am pleased to share that as of 15 August this year:
- More than 80,000 Advance Care Plans have been completed;
- 350,000 Singapore Citizens have taken the important step of making their Lasting Power of Attorney; and
- About 1.8 million had made their CPF nomination. These are commendable numbers, and we’ve all worked hard towards these numbers. Thank you.
OPG 15th anniversary
11 Today, we also celebrate a significant milestone – OPG's 15th anniversary. Since its establishment in 2010, OPG has introduced a transformative concept – enabling individuals to prepare, plan their future, by appointing trusted persons to manage their affairs should they lose mental capacity.
12 This forward-thinking approach opens important conversations with our loved ones about their preferences and their values. They ensure that decisions made on their behalf truly reflect the values and desires that they want, giving both the individual as well as their families’ peace of mind.
13 This journey has witnessed numerous enhancements, with our most significant milestone achieved in November 2022 when we transited from paper-based to online LPA applications. This digital transformation improved accessibility, as Donors and Donees, and they are now able to draft and accept LPAs using their SingPass accounts. The integration with the Health Appointment System also brought greater transparency and ease in the booking of appointments with certificate issuers. For those seeking cost-effective options, I encourage you, as well as the clients that you reach out to, to consider certificate issuers that accept CDC and SG60 vouchers, to help make certification even more affordable.
14 The success of our recent marquee event where over 500 LPAs were completed on-site demonstrated how OPG, together with our partners, have come a long way for legacy planning. Building on this, we will expand our collaborations with community partners and continue to lookfor even more ways to further simplify the process for young adults as well as our young seniors. I encourage all interested parties to reach out to us to discuss further areas for collaboration.
15 Let me end with an important reminder. So if any of you have not done your Lasting Power of Attorney, yesterday was the best time to do so. Today is the next best time. The current fee waiver ends in March 2026, in a few months’ time, so I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to secure your future care arrangement and advise all your loved ones, the people around you to do so before March 2026.
16 Thank you very much once again for your support, and I wish you a pleasant day ahead.