The government will introduce the Silver Support Scheme, which will be a major new feature in Singapore’s social security system, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in the Budget 2015 statement yesterday.
The permanent new scheme will serve as an income supplement for the bottom 20 to 30 percent of Singaporeans aged 65 and older.
Three factors will be evaluated to determine an individual’s eligibility for Silver Support; lifetime wages, the level of household support, and housing type.
“As Silver Support is for Singaporeans above age 65, many of whom may have retired, we cannot solely look at their wages today to determine if they qualify for Silver Support,” Mr Tharman said.
The government will extend Silver Support to seniors staying in five-room HDB flats and smaller, but with more support will be targeted to those living in smaller flats.
“We expect that the majority of those living in one and two-room flats will receive Silver Support, with a smaller proportion of those living in larger HDB flats qualifying,” Mr Tharman said.
All the seniors who qualify for Silver Support will receive these supplements for life, as long as they remain eligible.
To be implemented around Q1 2016, Silver Support will be paid quarterly and will provide a supplement of $300 to $750 every quarter for eligible seniors, with the average recipient receiving $600 per quarter.
Image source: HDB
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
