Reviewing Qualifying Criteria So That Silver Support Scheme Benefits More Needy Seniors

17 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the criteria of the Silver Support Scheme so that more seniors in need of the support can be assisted; and (b) whether the criteria for the scheme can be better communicated and explained to the seniors.

The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng): Mr Deputy Speaker, the Silver Support Scheme provides quarterly cash supplements to seniors who had lower incomes during their working years and now have little or no family support in their retirement. Lifetime wages, housing type and the level of household support are used to decide who is eligible.

MOM reviews the Silver Support Scheme regularly and enhanced the scheme last year.

First, we have raised payouts for recipients by 20%. Second, we have expanded the thresholds for lifetime wages and household monthly income per person to cover more seniors. We have also added a new payout tier that provides a payout to seniors with household monthly incomes per person above $1,300 but not exceeding $1,800.

With the enhancements, the number of Silver Support recipients has increased from one in five seniors in 2020, or about 150,000 seniors, to one in three seniors this year, or about a quarter of a million or 250,000 seniors. Total Silver Support payouts have also nearly doubled from $330 million in 2020 to $600 million per year today.

Seniors do not need to apply for Silver Support. They are automatically assessed annually, and the payouts are directly credited into the senior's registered bank account or sent to the senior's registered address via a cheque.

Currently, all seniors who are eligible for Silver Support in any given year are automatically notified by the CPF Board in December of the preceding year. For newly eligible recipients, the notification letter contains an accompanying infographic which explains the qualifying criteria in all four vernacular languages. We also disseminate information on Silver Support through Community Centres and Silver Generation Ambassadors who are trained to explain the scheme to seniors during their house visits.

If Members have suggestions on how the Silver Support eligibility criteria can be better communicated, we are happy to take these comments on board and we are happy to look into them as well.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang): Thank you, Sir. My question is more for seniors who used to receive and depended on the payouts, and subsequently, the payouts stopped because of changes in their household income and so on.

I understand that the CPF Board does review seniors' eligibility annually but I want to ask the Minister whether for those who used to receive and subsequently do not receive payouts, how does the CPF Board communicate this to those seniors? What are the reasons that are given to them – whether they used to receive for many years and then they do not receive payouts. Should there not be a clarification as to how that happens?

Secondly, for those who have received payouts for many years, can the Minister consider, perhaps, a phased stepdown from the Silver Support Scheme? Because many of the seniors depended on the payouts for some years and suddenly, it just gets removed. There could be some problems for them to manage their monthly expenses and so on. Would the Minister consider that as well?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank Mr Liang for his supplementary question.

The CPF Board automatically reviews a senior's eligibility for Silver Support every year. The main reason for seniors becoming ineligible usually could be due to a combination of reasons. It could be due to increases in their household monthly income per person, which is a broad indicator of the level of household support which is available to the senior. In many of these circumstances, the senior's financial situation has actually improved.

For those seniors who no longer qualify for Silver Support in the following year, they will be notified in the preceding year – in December of the preceding year. For instance, if the senior no longer qualifies for Silver Support for 2023, they will receive notification in December 2022.

To the Member's suggestion about stepping down, seniors who are no longer eligible for Silver Support will receive two tranches over two quarters of a stepdown Silver Support payment to help ease their transition out of the scheme.

Having said that, the CPF Board also considers appeals. When seniors find that notwithstanding the support that has been withdrawn, they are not able to be able to transition appropriately, we are prepared to consider each appeal.

3.06 pm

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. Ministerial Statement. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix, unless Members had asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn.]