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Pioneer, Merdeka generation seniors to receive MediSave top-ups in July

Eligible seniors will get between S$200 and S$900 each.

Pioneer, Merdeka generation seniors to receive MediSave top-ups in July

An elderly couple cross the road at South Bridge Road in Singapore on Feb 22, 2022. (Photo: CNA/Gaya Chandramohan)

SINGAPORE: Pioneer generation and Merdeka generation seniors will receive MediSave top-ups in July, amounting to a total of S$270 million, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Monday (Jun 13).

Eligible Pioneer generation seniors will receive top-ups of up to S$900, while eligible Merdeka generation seniors will receive S$200.

About 450,000 Pioneers and 500,000 Merdeka generation seniors have benefited from Medisave top-ups since the respective packages were launched in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

The top-ups are provided in addition to the annual GST Voucher-MediSave top-ups given to eligible Singaporeans aged 65 and above.

MediSave can be used to pay the premiums for MediShield Life, CareShield Life and other MediSave-approved insurance plans, as well as selected medical expenses such as hospitalisation, day surgeries and outpatient treatments.

TOP-UP AMOUNTS

Pioneers will receive MediSave top-ups of between S$250 and S$900 each year.

“Additionally, older Pioneers (aged 83 years and above in 2022) who have serious pre-existing conditions will receive further top-ups of S$50 and S$200 per year from 2021 to 2025 to help them pay their higher MediShield Life premiums,” the ministries said.

The additional top-up was announced by MOH in December 2020 as part of its commitments to “keep premiums affordable for our Pioneers who have generally accumulated less MediSave than younger Singaporeans”, they added.

The top-up for Pioneers will total about S$170 million this year. The amounts are as follows:

With these, those aged 88 years old and above will “continue to see their MediShield Life premiums fully covered”, while those who are younger will have about two-thirds covered, said MOF and MOH

Eligible Merdeka generation seniors will also receive S$200 in MediSave top-ups every year from 2019 and 2023, amounting to a total of S$90 million this year.

Pioneer Generation refers to those who were born on or before Dec 31, 1949, and became a Singapore citizen on or before Dec 31, 1986.

Merdeka Generation seniors include those who were born between Jan 1, 1950 and Dec 31, 1959 and became Singapore citizens on or before Dec 31, 1996.

HOW WILL YOU BE NOTIFIED?

Seniors who have downloaded and completed their one-time set-up on the Singpass mobile application will receive their top-up notifications in their inbox by Jun 21, informing them of the amount they would be eligible for.

Those who have not done so, but registered their mobile numbers with Singpass before Jun 12 will receive an SMS by Jun 21 notifying them of the amount they are eligible for. The rest of the eligible seniors will receive letters by the end of the month.

The ministries also cautioned the public to be on guard against scams, noting that SMS notifications will only inform seniors of their benefits, and will not ask them to reply or provide any information to the sender.

“No message on the Pioneer Generation Package or Merdeka Generation Package will be sent via WhatsApp or other mobile app messaging platforms,” they said.

More information can be found at go.gov.sg/pgpackage and go.gov.sg/mgpackage.

Source: CNA/ga(ac)
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