SINGAPORE: To help seniors with lower Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, a scheme will be introduced in 2026 to match voluntary top-ups to their MediSave accounts.
The five-year Matched MediSave Scheme will be made available to eligible lower-income Singaporeans aged 55 to 70.
About 184,000 CPF members are expected to be eligible.
Announcing the new scheme in his Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government will match every dollar of voluntary cash top-ups to the seniors' MediSave account, up to an annual grant of S$1,000 (US$740) per year.
The scheme will complement the existing Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, which was launched in 2021 to help senior Singaporeans with lower retirement savings build up more savings and boost their monthly payouts in retirement.
"Both matched savings schemes will help lower-income seniors, especially our grandmothers, mothers and aunts who were homemakers and caregivers," said Mr Wong, who is also the finance minister.
Anyone, including the seniors' families and employers, can make the top-ups to the eligible members' MediSave account.
The eligibility for the new scheme is automatically assessed every year, and the CPF Board will notify those who qualify at the start of each year, from January 2026, the Ministry of Finance said.
The government will also increase support for seniors with more severe care needs and who may require residential care, such as in nursing homes, said Mr Wong.
Existing subsidies for residential as well as home and community long-term care services will go up by up to 15 percentage points.
At present, Singaporeans can receive up to 75 per cent of subsidies for residential long-term care services and up to 80 per cent for non-residential.
The maximum qualifying per capita household income will also be raised from S$3,600 to S$4,800.
For Singaporeans born in 1969 or earlier, there will be additional subsidies of 5 percentage points for residential long-term care services, and 15 percentage points for those receiving home and community long-term care services.
These enhanced subsidies will kick in from July 2026.
There will also be more subsidies under the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund to cover the rising costs of home healthcare items such as adult diapers. The list of home healthcare items will also be expanded to support seniors with more care needs.
Meanwhile, the Home Caregiving Grant - which can be used to offset daily care costs - will be enhanced, said Mr Wong.
The grant currently provides cash payouts of up to S$400 a month to eligible households. This will be increased to up to S$600 per month.
The maximum qualifying per capita household income for the grant will also be raised from S$3,600 to S$4,800 to support more caregivers.
The changes to the grant will take effect from April 2026.
"We expect at least 80,000 seniors to benefit from the enhanced long-term care subsidies and grants, which will be implemented from 2026," Mr Wong said during his Budget speech.
"The enhancements are expected to cost around S$300 million in FY2026 and more in future years, as our population continues to age."
Another scheme that will be expanded is the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme, which offers senior-friendly fittings and accessible solutions to eligible HDB households.
Noting that the programme was been "well-received" by HDB residents, Mr Wong said the government will thus expand it for three years up to 2028 to households living in private properties as well.
Apart from seniors, more support will also be given to ex-offenders.
The Uplifting Employment Credit was introduced during Budget 2023 as a wage offset scheme to support employers who hire ex-offenders earning below S$4,000 and released within three years prior to employment.
Last year, the scheme supported close to 700 employers in hiring more than 1,500 ex-offenders.
To encourage more of such hiring, the Uplifting Employment Credit scheme will be extended from 2025 to end-2028.
The extended scheme will continue providing employers with a wage offset of up to 20 per cent for local ex-offenders' pay for the first nine months of employment, capped at S$600 per month for each employee.
"We will do everything we can to develop and realise the potential of all our people, so that they, in turn, realise their aspirations and dreams for themselves and their families," Mr Wong said.
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The five-year Matched MediSave Scheme will be made available to eligible lower-income Singaporeans aged 55 to 70.
About 184,000 CPF members are expected to be eligible.
Announcing the new scheme in his Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government will match every dollar of voluntary cash top-ups to the seniors' MediSave account, up to an annual grant of S$1,000 (US$740) per year.
The scheme will complement the existing Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, which was launched in 2021 to help senior Singaporeans with lower retirement savings build up more savings and boost their monthly payouts in retirement.
"Both matched savings schemes will help lower-income seniors, especially our grandmothers, mothers and aunts who were homemakers and caregivers," said Mr Wong, who is also the finance minister.
Anyone, including the seniors' families and employers, can make the top-ups to the eligible members' MediSave account.
The eligibility for the new scheme is automatically assessed every year, and the CPF Board will notify those who qualify at the start of each year, from January 2026, the Ministry of Finance said.
Related:
MORE SUPPORT FOR LONG-TERM CARE COSTS
The government will also increase support for seniors with more severe care needs and who may require residential care, such as in nursing homes, said Mr Wong.
Existing subsidies for residential as well as home and community long-term care services will go up by up to 15 percentage points.
At present, Singaporeans can receive up to 75 per cent of subsidies for residential long-term care services and up to 80 per cent for non-residential.
The maximum qualifying per capita household income will also be raised from S$3,600 to S$4,800.
For Singaporeans born in 1969 or earlier, there will be additional subsidies of 5 percentage points for residential long-term care services, and 15 percentage points for those receiving home and community long-term care services.
These enhanced subsidies will kick in from July 2026.
There will also be more subsidies under the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund to cover the rising costs of home healthcare items such as adult diapers. The list of home healthcare items will also be expanded to support seniors with more care needs.
Meanwhile, the Home Caregiving Grant - which can be used to offset daily care costs - will be enhanced, said Mr Wong.
The grant currently provides cash payouts of up to S$400 a month to eligible households. This will be increased to up to S$600 per month.
The maximum qualifying per capita household income for the grant will also be raised from S$3,600 to S$4,800 to support more caregivers.
The changes to the grant will take effect from April 2026.
"We expect at least 80,000 seniors to benefit from the enhanced long-term care subsidies and grants, which will be implemented from 2026," Mr Wong said during his Budget speech.
"The enhancements are expected to cost around S$300 million in FY2026 and more in future years, as our population continues to age."
Related:
Another scheme that will be expanded is the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme, which offers senior-friendly fittings and accessible solutions to eligible HDB households.
Noting that the programme was been "well-received" by HDB residents, Mr Wong said the government will thus expand it for three years up to 2028 to households living in private properties as well.
SUPPORTING EX-OFFENDERS
Apart from seniors, more support will also be given to ex-offenders.
The Uplifting Employment Credit was introduced during Budget 2023 as a wage offset scheme to support employers who hire ex-offenders earning below S$4,000 and released within three years prior to employment.
Last year, the scheme supported close to 700 employers in hiring more than 1,500 ex-offenders.
To encourage more of such hiring, the Uplifting Employment Credit scheme will be extended from 2025 to end-2028.
The extended scheme will continue providing employers with a wage offset of up to 20 per cent for local ex-offenders' pay for the first nine months of employment, capped at S$600 per month for each employee.
"We will do everything we can to develop and realise the potential of all our people, so that they, in turn, realise their aspirations and dreams for themselves and their families," Mr Wong said.
Related:
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