Proposal For Highest Tier of Silver Support for Seniors Above 80 Who Live in Smaller HDB Flats

7 Mr Shawn Loh asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the highest tier of Silver Support can be given to seniors above age 80 living in smaller HDB flats, considering that they would likely have outlived their life expectancy and depleted their CPF savings; and (b) whether the Government can top up the CPF LIFE accounts of low-wage seniors who continue to work to cope with living costs.

The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng): The Silver Support Scheme is a targeted support scheme which provides support to seniors aged 65 and above, who had lower incomes during their working years and now have little or no family support and resources in their retirement. Eligibility is determined by the senior's lifetime wages, housing type and the level of household support. Eligible seniors living in smaller flats with fewer financial resources will receive higher payments.

The Silver Support Scheme is part of a wider set of social support measures. These include the Workfare Income Supplement and the annual Earn and Save Bonus under the Majulah Package, which help boost the retirement savings of lower- to middle-income working seniors and can increase their Central Provident Fund (CPF) LIFE payouts. The one-off Retirement Savings Bonus and MediSave Bonus under the Majulah Package also provided an additional boost to eligible seniors' retirement and healthcare savings in their CPF accounts. In addition, the Assurance Package helps defray living expenses for Singaporean households. Seniors who need further assistance to meet their basic living needs can approach their nearest Social Service Office to apply for ComCare.

Mr Speaker: Mr Shawn Loh.

Mr Shawn Loh (Jalan Besar): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his care for our seniors and for his assurance that the Silver Support Scheme will continue to be reviewed periodically and sometimes, fundamentally.

I only have a specific question with regard to my earlier question on flat type. I cannot be the only Member of Parliament in this House who has had residents come up to me, who live in 5-room flats, to complain that their neighbours who live in 4-room flats are getting more from the Silver Support Scheme. And my question for the Minister is whether the Ministry could consider, in the future, merging some of these flat types so that residents, often neighbours who stay close to each other, can get the same higher level of Silver Support?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank the Member for his suggestion. In all of our future reviews, we take the feedback, not just from this House, but from our regular Meet-the-People Sessions, at dialogues, at town hall sessions, and at chit-chat sessions with all of our residents, and at different opportunities. We take that feedback and we certainly will see how to manage that feedback. We may not be able to, at a particular point in time, address each and every single one, but rest assured, we certainly will look at it over the medium to long term. Like I said earlier on, we have to balance it between fiscal prudence and fiscal sustainability. If we do something, I think, we need to ensure that we can sustain it over the long haul.

Of course, I hope for the day, through the collective efforts of all of us here, where we have done so well that we are able to upstream and ensure that every Singaporean has enough in their golden years; they can meet all of their Full Retirement Sum needs; and the Silver Support Scheme can then wither down to just a very small proportion. I think, then, we would have arrived.

I hope that gives the Member that reassurance of what we are thinking about over the long haul.