Aging Population Yang Qifan Chen Yun Marcel Wong Liang Kun

Content Scenario/background What the government did to improve on the situation Problems faced by elderly Steps taken to aid the elderly/welfare issues How Singapore’s management of aging population reveal good governance/sound policies

Scenario/background By 2012, the first batch of post-war baby boomers will be 65 years old Currently, one out of 12 Singaporeans is aged 65 or above By 2030, one out 5 Singaporeans is aged 65 or above.

Content Scenario/background What the government did to improve on the situation Problems faced by elderly Steps taken to aid the elderly/welfare issues How Singapore’s management of aging population reveal good governance/sound policies

Baby bonus Introduced on 1 April 2001 A cash gift of up to $4,000 each for 1st and 2nd child $6,000 each for 3rd and 4th child This scheme encourages Singaporeans to give birth more so as to prevent the population from aging

Critical Analysis - Baby bonus Essential as it encourages Singaporeans to give birth more so as to reduce the problem of aging population. Much of the child after-birth expenses are shared by the government, allowing low household income groups to give birth without worrying about the financial burden of having another child. However, till date, this scheme is not working effectively as some Singaporeans are still not willing to give birth more because they are not interested in the baby bonus. They still prefer to live their own style of living of not having a lot of children.

Extended age of retirement Retirement age raised from 62 to 65 More people can remain in the workforce and the working population can increase However, this extension can cause fewer job opportunities for the younger generation Government pensions will also be given at a later date

Critical Analysis – Retirement Age More people can remain in the workforce and the working population is increased while reducing the elderly population. Strengthens the country’s economy, as there is a larger workforce. When there is a larger workforce, the quality of the workers can improve, as there is now competition between them. Extension of retirement age can however cause fewer job opportunities for the younger generation as the elderly takes up more jobs. Furthermore, the efficiency of a company may be lowered if there is too much elderly in it.

Content Scenario/background What the government did to improve on the situation Problems faced by elderly Steps taken to aid the elderly/welfare issues How Singapore’s management of aging population reveal good governance/sound policies

Health - Many health problems starts to surface at the later phase of our lives Transport - Elderly may have problems travelling from one place to another Interaction - Elderly may have problems keeping up with the society as they had retired and may not have enough interaction with the outside world Housing - Elderly needs both cash and a house to live in, what can they do? Finance - Many elderly do not have a stable income as they had retired

Content Scenario/background What the government did to improve on the situation Problems faced by elderly Steps taken to aid the elderly/welfare issues How Singapore’s management of aging population reveal good governance/sound policies

MEDISAVE A person will need to contribute 6.5-9% of his/her salary into this fund every month. An additional 4% of interest will be provided by the government annually. This fund will allow the elderly to pay for their own medical fees even if they do not have a stable income. Health

MEDIFUND Helps the elderly who cannot afford to pay for their medical bills despite Medisave and MediShield. As of 2008, this fund stands at $1.66 billion. The government will put in more money when there are surpluses from the budget.

MEDISHIELD Subsidizes medical fees for the elderly who has severe illnesses and/or have prolonged hospitalization.

STEP-DOWN CARE SERVICES Further care is provided at certain centers for the elderly who are released from hospitals but have not completely recovered. These centers include nursing homes, community hospitals, day rehabilitation centres and more.

PRIMARY CARE PARTNERSHIP SCHEME The elderly who are aged 65 or above and do not live near polyclinics may apply for this scheme which provides outpatient services by private General Practitioners. The fees are subsidised at $4 per visit and 70 cents per drug.

VOLUTARY WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS These organizations are supported and encouraged by the government in terms of funding and services to provide healthcare for the elderly. Such organizations run daycare centers, community hospitals, hospices and others.

Critical Analysis - Health Huge amount of effort and resources have been put into health welfare of the elderly, shown by the large number of schemes to assist the elderly in health matters. We think that the government putting in a lot of resources in the area of health for the elderly is a wise way of helping the elderly as health should be the area where most elderly need assistance in.

Lease Buyback Scheme Helps the elderly sell their HDB flats to the Government for cash After selling their flats to the government, the elderly can continue living in them Home owner must be aged 62 and above to be eligible This ensures that the elderly have a place to live in and at the same time, cash to help cope with their monthly expenses Housing

Critical Analysis - Housing Not an issue that is as problematic as health as people generally already have fixed homes by 65 years of age. However, the government still looks into the matter of housing, trying to help elderly as much as possible. The lease buyback scheme is very helpful to elderly who do not have children as they cannot bring their house along when they die and they do not have children to inherit their properties. Hence, they can sell it to the government and exchange for cash to spend during their lifetime while still having a place to live in.

CPF Everyone has to put aside a certain percentage of their income into their CPF account The sum in the CPF account and be withdrawn after retiring or 55 years of age This ensures that the elderly still has an income after retiring Finance

Critical Analysis - Finance Good scheme as it helps Singaporeans to save along as they work during their working age. Most elderly are jobless after they retire, hence they do not have a fixed income. The CPF provides extra financial assistance as the elderly can now not only depend on their savings, they can also depend on their CPF to withdraw money and use during the later part of their life. This scheme has proven successful as the majority of Singaporeans in old age currently are not lacking in money.

Barrier-Free Society Wheel chair can now be move into public buses Home, flats and buildings had been changed into elder-friendly places (eg. Less staircases, more ramps) (eg. More handles and bars to hold on to along pavements) This ensures that senior citizens have a safe and unhindered travel passage Transport

Critical Analysis - Transport Another important and major issue much elderly face is moving from place to place. They often face difficulties while climbing stairs, etc. Hence, a barrier free society provides the elderly an unhindered path while moving around the neighbourhood. This is essential in an elderly’s daily life as they need to shop for daily food products. This scheme, in allowing easy movement for elderly, reduces the need for them to be entered into homes, reducing the restriction of freedom on the elderly.

There are many senior citizen corners in Singapore so as to promote interaction between the senior citizens There are many physical fitness corners in every neighborhood to encourage elderly to exercise This is to keep senior citizens mind active and help them to keep up with the society Interaction

Critical Analysis - Interaction Most retired elderly spend most of their time either at home. This can cause the elderly to lag in the society and it is not healthy for them to stay at home. A typical example of elderly lagging behind the society is the use of computers. Young generations nowadays are equipped with magnificent IT skills, while some elderly do not even know how to on computers.

Critical Analysis - Interaction That the government has put emphasis on interaction of elderly with the society so as to progress together with the society and be equipped with the most up to date technology. Exercising at neighbourhood fitness corners is healthy and it can also increase interaction between elderly and residence of the neighbourhood. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, the elderly population are not a hindrance to the growth of a country. They form an essential part of the consumers in a country and herein lies the importance of keeping them associated within the society.

Content Scenario/background What the government did to improve on the situation Problems faced by elderly Steps taken to aid the elderly/welfare issues How Singapore’s management of aging population reveal good governance/sound policies

The Singapore government had looked into every single aspect of senior citizens’ life and improve them respectively This can be seen as the government tries to solve health problems, financial problems, transportation problems, housing problems, etc of the elderly.

Many policies that are targeted at senior citizens are very helpful and reliable and they usually have a direct benefit on them Singapore is a country that treats elderly with care and respect.

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