Statement by the Permanent Mission of Singapore at the Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Rights of Older Persons, 10 September 2018

Mr. President,

We fully agree with Ms Kornfeld-Matte on the importance of combating social exclusion of older persons in holistic way.

Singapore’s vision is to create a Nation for All Ages.  We seek to create an enabling ageing environment through our Action Plan for Successful Ageing for our seniors and their families to embrace longevity, and turn ageing into a positive force for social and economic development. 

Our approach is to enable our seniors to “age-in-place” where they can socialise and stay healthy, active and safe within their communities, while leveraging on the potential of modern technology.

Our Action Plan for Successful Aging contains more than 70 initiatives in 12 areas, ranging from employment and retirement adequacy to transport and healthcare.

We also established the Community Network for Seniors (CNS) in 2016 as a one-stop centre where seniors can obtain services from government agencies, voluntary welfare organisations, regional health systems and volunteers under one roof.

Silver Generation Ambassadors also reach out to seniors, linking them up with befriending services as well as social and healthcare support for the frail and those living alone.

Under the umbrella of CNS, over 360 neighbourhoods hold weekly active ageing programmes as well as health screenings.

Going forward, we are reaching out to more community partners to make active ageing programmes and functional screenings more accessible to seniors in the community.

We share the IE’s concerns about the exclusion from material and financial resources for older persons.  That is why Singapore constantly examines how we can enhance the social protection of our seniors in a sustainable way.

The government announced two new initiatives this year. First, a new national long-term disability insurance care plan – CareShield Life – will be in place from 2020 to provide adequate protection that is inclusive, affordable, and sustainable through lifetime cash payouts.

Second, Singaporeans born in the 1950s will receive outpatient subsidies, top-ups to their social security accounts (Medisave), insurance premium subsidies (Medishield Life) and payouts for long-term care under the “Merdeka Generation Package” to recognise the contributions of some 500,000 citizens who contributed to Singapore’s development after independence.

We look forward to learning from the IE and other States on how they overcome the social exclusion of Older Persons.

Thank you Mr President.