Encouraging Singaporeans to Plan Comprehensively for Their Own Care in Old Age
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim’s inquiry on government measures to encourage comprehensive old-age planning, such as the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and estate planning, especially for seniors without family support. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung highlighted the My Legacy portal, a whole-of-government platform providing resources on life planning, end-of-life care, and estate settlement. He noted the availability of a bundled tool for drafting legal instruments and the My Legacy Vault for storage, while professionals can assist seniors lacking suitable next-of-kin. Awareness is further promoted through workshops at Active Ageing Centres and outreach at community touchpoints like libraries, faith-based organisations, and community centres. These collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social and Family Development aim to help Singaporeans secure their future care and affairs early.
Transcript
29 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Health in view of the increasing number of ageing citizens without family members who are able or willing to take care of them in their senior years, what are the Ministry's plans to work with agencies from other Ministries to encourage more Singaporeans to plan comprehensively, for example, through Lasting Power of Attorney, estate planning and Advanced Medical Directive.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: It is important to plan ahead to ensure our affairs are taken care of when we are unable to do so ourselves. To do this, we can make our Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), Advance Care Plan (ACP), Advance Medical Directive and wills early. While next-of-kin are often involved in making these decisions, seniors who do not have suitable next-of-kin can get help from professionals or other facilitators. More information is available on the My Legacy portal.
The My Legacy portal is a whole-of-Government initiative that was launched in 2020 to help Singaporeans plan ahead. It offers comprehensive information and services on legacy-related issues, such as life planning, end-of-life care, post-death matters and estate settlement. To encourage the uptake of LPA and ACP, there is an LPA-ACP bundled tool which enables individuals to draft both instruments in one sitting. Individuals can retrieve and share these important documents through the My Legacy Vault for easier future reference.
To increase awareness, workshops promoting life planning via My Legacy are conducted at Active Ageing Centres. MOH and MSF have also been conducting outreach at community touchpoints, such as public libraries, faith-based organisations and community centres.