ElderFund is a discretionary assistance scheme, targeted at lower-income Singapore Citizens who have developed severely disability, while MediFund is mainly to help patients who are unable to cope with medical bills (including those who have developed disability or severe disability), and ComCare is mainly to provide social assistance to low-income individuals or families.

Government-funded safety nets such as MediFund and ComCare will provide assistance to Singaporeans who are unable to pay for their care even after Government subsidies and other means of support.

If you have challenges meeting your long-term care needs, you should approach a medical social worker at your long-term care provider, or the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for more advice and assistance. Alternatively, if you are already being assisted by a social worker from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) with your daily living expenses, you may also seek help from your current social worker for your long-term care costs.

MOH and MSF will work closely together to ensure that Singaporeans who need financial assistance do not need to undergo unnecessary hurdles in seeking assistance for their healthcare, long-term care and daily living expenses. 

ElderFund is a new discretionary assistance scheme, officially launched in end Jan 2020. It is targeted at assisting 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.

Eligible Singapore Citizens can receive up to $250 in monthly cash payouts for as long as they are unable to do three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).

The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will assess your eligibility for ElderFund based on the following criteria:

1. Unable to perform at least three out of six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The ADLs include eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, and walking or and moving around.
2. Age 30 years old and above
3. Must be a Singapore Citizen residing in Singapore
4. Not eligible for CareShield Life, ElderShield and IDAPE, or no longer an active recipient of ElderShield and IDAPE

AIC will also assess your financial eligibility based on this guiding set of financial criteria:
1. Applicants should generally have low MediSave balances of less than $10,000
2. Applicants should generally have low per capita household income that is equal or less than $1,200 per month

Applications and appeals by Singaporeans who do not meet these criteria will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you have difficulty meeting your long-term care needs, you should approach a medical social worker at your long-term care provider, or the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for more advice and assistance. 

The regular increase in payouts for CareShield Life are supported by regular premium increases. Once an insured under CareShield Life makes a claim, the payout stays fixed.

ElderFund will be a government financial assistance scheme, funded through taxes. Eligible Singapore Citizens can receive up to $250 per month in cash. There will be no cap on payout duration for the duration of their severe disability. The Government will review the payout amount over time to ensure that payouts remain relevant for beneficiaries.

The target group for ElderFund recipients are Singapore Citizens who are not eligible for CareShield Life, ElderShield and IDAPE, or are no longer active recipients of ElderShield and IDAPE. Our focus is also on benefitting Singapore Citizens who have low MediSave balances, which means that the amount that they are able to draw under MediSave Care will not be the full withdrawal limit of $200/month. 

However, Singaporeans who are unable to meet their long-term care costs, even after receiving payouts under CareShield Life/ElderShield, MediSave Care (from himself or his spouse) or IDAPE, may be considered for ElderFund on a case-by-case basis.

If you have challenges meeting your long-term care needs, you should approach a medical social worker at your long-term care provider, or the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for more advice and assistance.

ElderFund is a discretionary assistance scheme targeted at assisting lower-income Singaporeans aged 30 and above who have developed severe disability and are not able to join CareShield Life or have low MediSave balances and inadequate personal savings to meet their long-term care needs.

If you are unable to meet your long-term care costs, even after receiving payouts under CareShield Life/ElderShield, MediSave Care or IDAPE, you may be considered for ElderFund on a case-by-case basis.

If you have challenges meeting your long-term care needs, you should approach the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), or a medical social worker at your long-term care provider, for more advice and assistance.

The focus of ElderFund is to provide protection against severe disability during old age, when Singaporeans are most likely to need long-term care.

You can tap on various other support schemes meant for families who need support for their  loved ones younger than 30 and have developed severe disability, e.g. subsidies for early intervention programmes under Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), and subsidies for therapy services at KK Hospital and the National University Hospital.

Government-funded safety nets such as MediFund or ComCare can provide further assistance if you are unable to pay for your care even after Government subsidies and other means of support.

The focus of ElderFund is to provide support for Singapore Citizens living in Singapore. Singapore Permanent Residents will not be eligible for ElderFund.

The focus of ElderFund is to provide support for Singapore Citizens living in Singapore. Singaporeans residing overseas will not qualify for ElderFund payouts.

Annual periodic re-assessments may be required to assess if a beneficiary of a severe disability scheme continues to meet the criteria for receiving payouts/withdrawals. The periodic re-assessment fees are waived, regardless of the outcome of the assessment.  AIC will inform you if a periodic re-assessment is required.

Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) and Pioneer Disability Assistance Scheme (PioneerDAS) are disability assistance schemes restricted to smaller cohorts of older Singaporeans. ElderFund provides wider coverage, and is targeted at assisting lower-income Singapore Citizens above the age of 30 who are unable to benefit from CareShield Life, ElderShield and IDAPE, and have insufficient MediSave balances to support their basic long-term care needs.

IDAPE was introduced in 2002 to benefit seniors who were not eligible for ElderShield at the time because they were aged 70 and above (born on/or before 30 September 1932) or had pre-existing disabilities. It provides $250 per month or $150 per month, depending on applicant's per capita household income, for a maximum of 6 years.

PioneerDAS is part of the Pioneer Generation package, and provides $100 per month for all Pioneers with moderate disability. There is no cap on the duration of payouts as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

If you are unable to meet your long-term care needs after available Government subsidies and assistance schemes, including ElderFund, you can rely on MediFund and ComCare as a safety net.

If you have challenges meeting your long-term care needs, you should approach the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), or a medical social worker at your long-term care provider, for more advice and assistance. Alternatively, if you are already being assisted with ComCare from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) / Social Services Offices (SSOs) and need further help with your long-term care costs, please approach your SSO for advice and assistance.

MOH and MSF will work closely together to ensure that Singaporeans who need financial assistance do not need to undergo unnecessary hurdles in seeking assistance for their healthcare, long-term care and daily living expenses.

IDAPE was introduced as a complementary scheme to ElderShield in 2002, for Singaporeans who could not join the ElderShield scheme then. Similar to the current ElderShield schemes, a payout duration cap was built into the IDAPE scheme.

Singaporeans with severe disability who have finished their IDAPE payouts can continue to tap on means-tested Government subsidies and various Government assistance schemes to complement their personal savings and family support, in meeting their long-term care needs. They can also tap on government disability schemes like Home Caregiving Grant or ElderFund.

Government-funded safety nets such as MediFund and ComCare can provide further assistance to Singaporeans who are unable to pay for their care even after Government subsidies and other means of support.

Singaporeans who have challenges meeting their long-term care needs should approach a medical social worker at their long-term care provider, or the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for more advice and assistance.

More details on whether you can qualify for IDAPE in the event of severe disability in the future will be released closer to the implementation of CareShield Life.

The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) administers ElderFund.