What is the difference between CareShield Life, ElderShield, MediShield Life, CPF LIFE, ElderFund, Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), Home Caregiving Grant (HCG), Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme (PioneerDAS) and Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE)?

CareShield Life, ElderShield, MediShield Life, CPF LIFE, CHAS, HCG, PioneerDAS, ElderFund and IDAPE are schemes that help Singaporeans with different types of healthcare and retirement expenses.

CareShield Life and ElderShield are long-term care insurance schemes that will provide Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents with some financial protection should one develop severe disability (i.e. unable to perform at least three or more of the six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)), especially in old age.

For CareShield Life, Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents born in 1980 or later will be automatically covered under CareShield Life on 1 October 2020, or when they turn 30, whichever is later. Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents born in 1979 or earlier can choose to join CareShield Life if they do not develop severe disability. CareShield Life insureds can receive monthly payouts for as long as they are unable to do three or more ADLs. Payouts start at $600 per month in 2020 and increase annually until age 67 or when a successful claim is made, whichever is earlier.

For ElderShield, eligible Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who had a MediSave Account when they turned 40 years old in 2019 or earlier were automatically covered under ElderShield. Depending on the plan you have, in the event of severe disability, ElderShield provides monthly cash payouts of $300 per month for up to 60 months (under ElderShield 300 plan), or $400 per month for up to 72 months (under ElderShield 400 plan).

MediShield Life is a basic healthcare insurance plan that protects all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents against large medical bills for life.  

CPF LIFE is the national longevity insurance annuity scheme, which insures Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents against the risk of outliving their retirement savings. Under CPF LIFE, members will receive a monthly payout from their payout eligibility age, for as long as they live.  

Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) enables all Singapore Citizens, including Pioneer Generation (PG) and Merdeka Generation (MG) cardholders, to receive subsidies for medical and/or dental care at participating General Practitioner (GP) and dental clinics. CHAS was implemented to allow CHAS cardholders to enjoy more subsidies at Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs) in public hospitals when referred by CHAS-partnered clinics or polyclinics. 

Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) is a monthly cash grant of $200 to support families caring for loved ones with permanent moderate disability (i.e. always require some assistance with at least three Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)) who reside in the community. The HCG can be used to defray caregiving expenses, such as the cost of eldercare and services in the community or hiring of a foreign domestic worker. 

Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme (PioneerDAS) offers life-long monthly cash assistance of $100 to Pioneers with permanent moderate disability (i.e. always require some assistance with at least three ADLs). Applicants must be a Pioneer to be eligible. 

Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) offers a monthly cash assistance of up to $250 to needy elderly Singapore Citizens living in Singapore who are needy, have developed severe disability and are unable to join ElderShield when it was launched in 2002 either because they had exceeded the maximum entry age or had pre-existing disabilities. 

ElderFund is a discretionary government assistance scheme providing monthly cash assistance of up to $250 to lower-income Singapore Citizens, aged 30 and above, who have developed severe disability and are not able to benefit from CareShield Life, ElderShield and Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE), and have low MediSave balances and inadequate personal savings to meet their long-term care needs.

This information provided here is sourced from the MOH website.