Singapore— A total of S$270 million in MediSave top-ups will be made available to eligible seniors beginning in July, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) on June 13, Thursday.
The top-ups are part of the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation packages and can be used for paying for MediShield Life premiums and other MediSave-approved insurance plans.
Aside from this, the top-ups may also be utilised for hospitalisation, day surgery, and approved outpatient treatment bills.
As early as next week senior citizens from the Pioneer Generation will be getting the letters telling them of their MediSave top-ups for the rest of 2019, as well as their other benefits.
Individuals who were born by December 31, 1949, and became Singaporean citizens by 1986 are members of the Pioneer Generation and are qualified to receive the Pioneer Generation Package, which was announced five years ago, to honor this generation.
Depending on what year they were born, they are eligible for receiving between S$200 and S$800 in MediSave.
The seniors who qualify under the Merdeka Generation Package will be getting letters containing the information concerning the benefits they can avail of.
The package for the Merdeka Generation was only announced in Parliament at the Budget announcement from this year and is intended to help defray costs of healthcare for senior citizens. Singaporeans born between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 1959, and have become citizens by the end of 1996 are eligible for the package. They will receive yearly top-ups for MediSave of S$200 for five years from this year through 2023.
Senior citizens were already given top-ups this year under the GST Voucher scheme, and the top-ups for MediSave for the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation seniors are an added bonus for them.
For more information on the Pioneer Generation Package, please see www.pioneers.sg, and for the Merdeka Generation Package, visit www.merdekageneration.sg.
Earlier this month 83,000 members of the Merdeka Generation received their welcome folders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The Prime Minister, born in February 1952, received his welcome folder at an appreciation ceremony at Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central along with around 300 other members of the Merdeka Generation, the term for Singaporeans born between 1950 and 1959.
PM Lee himself distributed 50 Merdeka Generation Package welcome folders at the event at ITE College Central.
At the appreciation ceremony, PM Lee said that the Merdeka Generation helped in writing a big part of Singapore’s story since they had actually built the country up when it first attained independence.
The Prime Minister said, “We grew up in the early years of independence. We travelled with Singapore from third world to first. We helped build this nation and make Singapore a successful little red dot.”
He acknowledged, however, that the Merdeka Generation faced its share of difficulty and hardship.
“We weathered several economic crises, and workers experienced dislocation and uncertainty as we transformed the economy and upgraded the workforce.”
The Prime Minister also said he hoped that the package would allow the Merdeka Generation to have more peace of mind so that they could enjoy their retirement years.
Merdeka Generation members received numerous benefits that include, top-ups of S$200 to their Medisave accounts (for members who are eligible) by July, and outpatient subsidies at Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) clinics.
In July members of the Merdeka Generation can also start claiming their S$100 Passion Silver card top-up, eligible for usage at community clubs for the course and facility fees.
Around half a million senior citizens in all are eligible to receive these benefits./ TISG
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