S’poreans Born In 1979 & Earlier Can Join CareShield Life, Insure Against Severe Disability

CareShield Life To Be Available For Singaporeans & PRs Born In 1979 & Earlier

Whenever serious injuries or illnesses befall anyone, having enough money to cope with the costs is important. That’s likely why the Government introduced CareShield Life, a national long-term care insurance scheme.

Previously mandatory only for Singaporeans or Permanent Residents (PRs) born in 1980 or later, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is now opening it up to more applicants.

They announced the changes in a press release yesterday (14 Oct).

Singaporeans & PRs born in 1979 or before can join CareShield Life

According to MOH, the scheme will be ready for eligible citizens and PRs to join from 6 Nov.

Those who do not fall within this or the mandatory age group will have to sign up through the CareShield Life website.

Meanwhile, MOH will automatically enroll individuals born between 1970 and 1979 who are existing ElderShield 400 policyholders.

Since they had introduced CareShield in Oct 2020 to replace ElderShield, the Government will be taking over administration of the latter from 1 Nov.

This will hopefully ensure a smoother transition, so policyholders can benefit from the new claims assessment process.

CareShield Life insures against severe disability

For those who may be unfamiliar, CareShield Life ensures that every individual has basic financial protection in case of severe disability.

Individuals with a severe disability are defined as being unable to perform at least 3 out of 6 Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).

Source

MOH cited statistics that 1 in 2 65-year-old Singaporeans is expected to become severely disabled in their lifetime.

Hence, the ElderShield Review Committee (ESRC) recommended the Government introduce CareShield Life to the public.

Under CareShield Life, eligible individuals will receive several benefits:

• Payouts that increase annually until age 67, or when they make a successful claim. The current payout for CareShield Life is $612, which is more than ElderShield’s fixed payouts of $300 or $400/month
• Lifelong payouts, unlike ElderShield which extends over 60 or 72 months
• Premium support to ensure no one loses coverage due to an inability to pay

Participation Incentives to encourage enrolment

Since MOH believes that CareShield Life will provide better protection than ElderShield, they’re introducing Participation Incentives to encourage enrolment.

All Singaporeans born in 1979 or earlier will get Incentive of up to $2,500 if they sign up by 31 Dec 2023.

Merdeka and Pioneer Generation citizens, meanwhile, will get up to $1,500 worth of Incentives if they join by the same date.

Interested individuals can refer to this document for the available premium support measures.

Research before signing up

While the scheme may seem beneficial, it is also important to weigh the costs and benefits before making a decision.

Those who have more queries can write to ElderShield on their website, or call the Healthcare Hotline at 1800-222-3399.

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Featured image by MS News, for illustration purposes only.