SINGAPORE - The committee reviewing ElderShield has recommended that the severe disability insurance scheme be made compulsory - including for those with pre-existing disabilities – to better ensure these people get the care they need in old age.
It also recommended that people should start paying premiums at age 30 rather than 40 and suggested that the Government, rather than private insurance providers, should administer it. It also called for the claims process to be simplified.
The committee gave its interim update on Tuesday (Jan 30), with the full set of recommendations expected to follow by the middle of this year.
"We want ElderShield to be a social safety net and we all have a collective responsibility to take care of those with disabilities," said Mr Chaly Mah, who chairs the Eldershield Review Committee.
Currently, all Singaporeans join the scheme automatically when they turn 40, and are covered by one of three private insurers but they are able to opt out.
Money is paid out when people cannot perform three of the six "activities of daily living", which include being able to wash, dress and feed themselves.
The six activities are: washing oneself in the bath or shower; wearing and unfastening all garments and putting on braces, artificial limbs or medical devices where required; to eat and drink without help; use the toilet to relieve themselves and manage the use of any protective undergarments or surgical appliances; move from room to room on level surfaces; and to transfer oneself from a bed to a chair or wheelchair, and vice versa.
During the 2016 National Day Rally Speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Government would form a committee to review the Eldershield scheme.
This was followed by a series of public consultations early last year, at which people raised issues such as who should manage the scheme and how to improve the claims process.
The committee has gathered feedback from more than 800 Singaporeans in 26 such sessions so far.
Mr Mah, who is also the chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Singapore Accounting Commission, said: "It is clear to us that the average Singaporean does not understand the risk of severe disability...when you underestimate this risk it is easy to take the decision to opt out."
Although the opt-out rate in recent years is around 5 per cent, more than a third of people opted out when the scheme started in 2002.
The Health Ministry estimates that half of Singaporeans who are healthy at the age of 65 are at risk of having a long-term disability over their lifetime.
The committee is recommending that the Government help low-income Singaporeans who may find it difficult to afford premiums.
The committee is also looking at the size of payouts and the duration for which they are given out, which could be different from the status quo. Premiums could also increase.
Currently, those who joined the scheme between September 2002 and August 2007 are entitled to a monthly payout of $300 for five years.
Meanwhile, those who joined after September 2007 get a monthly payout of $400 for six years.
In 2016, Mr Lee spoke of the need to adapt the scheme to an ageing population, adding that not everyone is covered under the existing scheme and six years of disability payouts may not be enough.
The committee also wants to make the process of making claims easier, including improving awareness of the scheme and making it more convenient for people to be assessed for it.
Singaporeans based overseas will not be able to opt out from the scheme, as they will be able to get the cash disability payouts even if they do not live in Singapore, Mr Mah said.
