ElderShield was first launched by the Ministry of Health in September 2002 as a severe disability insurance scheme which provides basic financial protection to those who need long-term care especially in their old age. It provides a monthly cash payout for up to 72 months to help pay out-of-pocket expenses in the event of severe disability. 

ElderShield was offered to eligible Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) who had a MediSave Account when they turned 40 years old in 2019 or earlier. 

You can check for your ElderShield coverage through the CPF Board’s website. The steps are as follows:

a. Visit the CPF website.
b. Log in using your Singpass.
c. Hover over "my cpf" and click on "Healthcare" under "My dashboards".
d. Click on “Long-term care insurance” on the anchor links or scroll down to the “Long-term care insurance” section.

If you are covered under ElderShield, this section will inform you of the ElderShield Plan that you are covered under, i.e. ElderShield 300 or ElderShield 400.

If you are not covered under CareShield Life/ElderShield, this section will inform you that you are not covered under CareShield Life/ElderShield.

You can check for your ElderShield coverage through the CPF Board’s website. The steps are as follows: 

a. Visit the CPF website.
b. Log in using your Singpass
c. Hover over "my cpf" and click on "Healthcare" under "My dashboards".
d. Click on “Long-term care insurance” on the anchor links or scroll down to the “Long-term care insurance” section.

If you are covered under ElderShield, this section will inform you of the ElderShield Plan that you are covered under, i.e. ElderShield 300 or ElderShield 400.

If you are not covered under CareShield Life/ElderShield, this section will inform you that you are not covered under CareShield Life/ElderShield.

The ElderShield scheme is no longer open for new applications.

If you are born in 1979 or earlier and do not develop severe disability, you may choose to join CareShield Life via the Application to join CareShield Life e-Service and log in using your Singpass to complete the application.

If you are born in 1980 or later, you will be automatically covered under CareShield Life.

ElderShield provides lifetime coverage to its insureds. Once an ElderShield insured starts paying premiums, he will be covered under ElderShield. An insured will be covered under ElderShield for the rest of his life when he finishes paying all the premiums under the Regular Premium Plan or a lump sum premium under the Single Premium Plan. For example, he can still submit a claim if he develops severe disability at age 85, so long as his total claims have not exceeded 60 months (for ElderShield 300) or 72 months (for ElderShield 400). 

You can terminate your ElderShield via the Termination of ElderShield e-Service if you do not wish to continue to be covered under the scheme. However, you will lose all existing benefits, and you may have to go for a medical assessment if you wish to join CareShield Life. We encourage you to consider keeping your ElderShield policy to ensure you continue to have basic protection for long-term care. 

ElderShield 300 insureds were given a one-time option to upgrade to ElderShield 400 in 2007.  Upgrades from ElderShield 300 to ElderShield 400 are no longer accepted.

You cannot downgrade from ElderShield 400 to ElderShield 300.

Severe disability could have many causes. Examples include:
• A sudden event such as stroke or spinal cord injuries
• Progression of illnesses such as Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and other causes of dementia
• Worsening of chronic conditions or diseases such as diabetes, and multiple sclerosis

ElderShield is a long-term care insurance scheme targeted at severe disability, especially in old age. ElderShield provides monthly payouts of $300 or $400 per month, for up to 72 months. Your plan’s benefits depend on when you joined ElderShield.

Table 1: Payouts for ElderShield 

If you are also covered under ElderShield Supplements, you will receive additional benefits.

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.

ElderShield policyholders who have renounced their Singapore Citizenship or Permanent Resident status before 1 April 2024
You can retain your ElderShield policy as long as your policy was paid up before 1 April 2024 or you continue to make payment for your premiums. 

As foreigners would no longer have CPF accounts from 1 April 2024 onwards, you will have to make alternative premium payment arrangement to continue payment, if you wish to retain your cover. If you are using your own MediSave Account to pay for the premiums and no alternative payment arrangements are made to continue, your ElderShield policy will lapse, with no refund of past premiums paid. However, in scenarios where there were a minimum number of premiums paid, your ElderShield cover will be converted to a policy with reduced payouts. 

ElderShield policyholders who renounce their Singapore Citizenship or Permanent Resident status after 1 April 2024
In line with the closure of CPF accounts, your ElderShield policy will be automatically terminated and there will be no refund of premiums paid. This is as per how MediShield Life and CareShield Life policies are terminated upon renunciation of Singapore Citizenship or Permanent Resident status.

I am (i) residing overseas or (ii) have renounced my Singapore Citizenship/Permanent Resident status. How do I pay my CareShield Life/ElderShield/MediShield Life premiums?

ElderShield premiums are based on the age at which you join the scheme, and the final premium payable is for the policy year in which you are still age 65 at the start of the policy year. The premium amount does not increase with age. You can find your premiums for ElderShield 400 and ElderShield 300 here.

You can use your MediSave to pay for your ElderShield premiums in full. If you do not have enough MediSave savings, you may also use the MediSave savings of your spouse, parents, children, siblings, and grandchildren to pay for the premiums. 

You may top up your MediSave using cash via the Top up MediSave Account online form with your Singpass.

Alternatively, a family member* can apply to take over as your premium payer using his/her MediSave. To do so, he/she may visit the Change Premium Payer e-Service and log in using his/her own Singpass to complete the “Change Premium Payer” transaction  

*Family member refers to the Insured's spouse, parents, children, siblings, or grandchildren.

You can pay the ElderShield premiums for your family members (i.e. spouse, parents, children, siblings or grandparents) using your MediSave.

To do so, you can visit the Change Premium Payer e-Service and log in using Singpass to complete the application. 

Alternatively, you/your family member may top up to your or his/her MediSave via the Top up MediSave Account online form.

You may view the deduction and refund transactions for ElderShield policies via the payer’s Transaction History at cpf.gov.sg (Singpass login is required).

You can use your MediSave to pay for your own or your family members’ (spouse, parents, children, siblings, and grandparents) premiums for basic ElderShield and ElderShield Supplements. For ElderShield Supplements, usage of MediSave is capped at a limit of $600 per year.  

If you qualify for ElderShield benefit claim payout, you do not need to pay premiums if there is no change in your disability status. 

The ElderShield scheme collects premiums based on the insured’s age as at their last birthday. The annual premium is payable until the policy year in which you are still age 65 at the start of the policy year.

For example, for a 40-year-old male (date of birth: 30 June 1978) on ElderShield400, the final premium payable will be for the policy starting 30 April 2044. This is because the insured is still age 65 on 30 April 2044 even though he turned age 65 on 30 June 2043.

You may still be able to receive some payouts in the event of severe disability if you have paid the minimum amount of premiums needed for it to be converted to a paid-up policy. The level of payouts you can receive will depend on the amount of premiums paid. For more details on your payouts, please log in to My Policy e-Service using your Singpass.

ElderShield premiums are inclusive of the prevailing GST rate.

In Budget 2022, the Minister for Finance announced that the GST rate will be increased from 7% to 8% with effect from 1 January 2023 and from 8% to 9% with effect from 1 January 2024. As GST is levied on ElderShield premiums at the prevailing GST rate, the premiums will increase accordingly.

The new ElderShield premium rate table (for policy periods on or after 1 Jan 2023) can be found on CPF website, under ElderShield premiums table.

We have a broad-based Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, with minimal exemptions as this approach helps to keep the GST rate relatively low. GST is a tax on domestic consumption of goods and services, and is payable on insurance contracts such as health, motor, and fire insurance. GST is therefore payable on premiums for ElderShield.

The Government has announced the enhanced Assurance Package for GST to cushion the impact of the planned GST increase for at least 5 years for most Singaporean households. This includes MediSave top-up of $150 each year from 2023 to 2025, for Singaporeans aged 20 years and below, or 55 years old and above, which may be used to offset the premium increase.

The Assurance Package for GST also includes cash payouts of $700 to $1,600 over five years, for all Singaporeans aged 21 years and above.

Older Singaporeans aged 65 and above, whose residential address is a property that does not exceed an Annual Value of $21,000 and who own only one property will also continue to receive an annual MediSave top-up of up to $450. This is beyond the transitional support covered by the Assurance Package.  

In the last 5 years of the scheme, ElderShield claims have been lower than projected. Hence, existing ElderShield policyholders whose policies are in force and who are not claiming from ElderShield as of 31 December 2022 will be given premium rebates.

ElderShield policyholders with active/in-force policies and who are not claiming from ElderShield as of 31 December 2022 are eligible for the rebate.

For policies paid for by the insured, or where premiums no longer need to be paid, the rebate will be credited to the insured’s MediSave to support the insured’s future healthcare needs.

For policies paid for by an individual who is not the insured (for example, a family member) via MediSave, the rebate will be credited to the payer’s MediSave to support future ElderShield premium payments.

The amount of rebate you receive depends on how much premiums you have paid as of 31 December 2022 (the more premiums you have paid, the higher the rebates you will receive).

If you are eligible, you will be informed of your personalised rebate amount via email, SMS or hardcopy based on your registered contact details by end January 2023. You can also view the rebate amount in the Transaction History of your MediSave or your payer's MediSave Account statements via cpf.gov.sg (Singpass login required).

No action is required from you to receive the rebate. For those eligible, the rebate is credited to their MediSave accounts or their premium payer’s MediSave accounts automatically by end January 2023.

If you are the recipient of the rebate, you will be informed of your personalised rebate amount via email, SMS, or hardcopy based on your registered contact details by end January 2023. 

The credited rebate will also be viewable via your MediSave account statements by end January 2023. To view this, access the Transaction History via cpf.gov.sg (Singpass login is required).

This will depend on the claims experience of the ElderShield scheme. Premium rebates are only given if subsequent ElderShield claims are lower than projected.

If you upgraded to CareShield Life on or before 31 December 2022, the ElderShield rebate would have been incorporated into your CareShield Life premiums, which would become lower as a result. Please be assured that you did not lose your ElderShield premium rebate by upgrading to CareShield Life.

Those who joined CareShield Life on or after 1 January 2023, should get the ElderShield premium rebate.

If you are covered by CareShield Life/ElderShield, you will be eligible to claim in the event of severe disability. This means that you must be unable to perform at least three out of the six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The six ADLs are: 

• Washing – the ability to wash in the bath or shower (including getting into and out of the bath or shower) or do a sponge/bed bath.
• Dressing – the ability to put on, take off, secure and unfasten all garments and, as appropriate, any braces, artificial limbs or other surgical or medical appliances.
• Feeding – the ability to feed oneself food after it has been prepared and made available.
• Toileting – the ability to use the toilet or manage bowel and bladder function through the use of protective undergarments such as diapers or surgical appliances if appropriate.
• Mobility – the ability to move indoors from room to room on level surfaces.
• Transferring – the ability to move from a bed to an upright chair or wheelchair, and vice versa.

If you are covered under ElderShield and wish to claim from ElderShield, you can log in to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)’s application portal (https://efinance.aic.sg) with your Singpass.

The ElderShield claims criterion is stricter as ElderShield is intended for severe disability, whereas the other schemes such as Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme and Foreign Domestic Worker Grant are meant for moderate disability. This means that individuals should demonstrate that they require significantly more assistance before qualifying for ElderShield payouts.

Nonetheless, the Government recognises that it is possible to establish some equivalence across selected disability assessment tools, and is currently studying how this can be done without compromising the robustness of the ElderShield claims assessment process.

While you are undergoing treatment in the hospital, your disability status may change, and this may impact your long-term care scheme application.  As such, we do not recommend patients to attend the severe disability assessment while hospitalised.

Our focus is to accredit healthcare professionals in the community, including the GPs, and clinicians in the long-term care sector to assess individuals’ level of disability when their condition has stabilised.

The Government is looking into recognising equivalent assessments that have been performed by a qualified healthcare professional (doctors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and registered nurses) providing care to the patient. In such cases, the patient need not undergo a separate severe disability assessment. Today, those who are staying in a nursing home can already approach their nursing home for assistance to submit the Resident’s Assessment Form in place of the severe disability assessment.

MOH and AIC will progressively roll out the use of such equivalent assessments and will make the information available via the MOH and AIC website.

If you are receiving assistance under ComCare/Public Assistance/MediFund/ MFAC/MFEC and/or CHAS Blue:

You can contact any of the MOH- accredited severe disability assessors and inform him/her that you are unable to pay for the upfront assessment fee. Please explain to the assessor which scheme you are receiving assistance under and check if the assessor can waive the assessment fee for you on these grounds before proceeding to make an appointment with the assessor.  If the assessor is unable to waive the fees, please contact AIC for further assistance.

If you are staying in a Nursing Home:

You can approach your nursing home to help submit a Resident Assessment Form (RAF) in place of a severe disability assessment.  

The RAF is conducted regularly by nursing homes as part of patient care, and there is no additional charge.

CareShield Life/ElderShield insureds who have developed severe disability and wish to apply for claims will need to undergo a severe disability assessment by a MOH-accredited severe disability assessor.

A trained, accredited severe disability assessor will be able to assess whether the applicant meets the CareShield Life/ElderShield criteria of being unable to perform three or more of the six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). We have expanded the list of accredited assessors to include therapists and nurses who have been trained.

All MOH-accredited assessors have undergone a rigorous training programme to learn how to assess a patient’s level of disability. Through the training, assessors are equipped to assess an individual’s ability to perform the six ADLs, including specific components of each ADL to take into account, what factors to consider when an individual is cognitively impaired, and what should be done if any individual’s functional ability fluctuates over time. As this is a complex process, the training and accreditation is necessary to ensure that disability assessments are conducted with a high degree of rigour and consistency.

The Government is also looking into recognising equivalent assessments that have been performed by a qualified healthcare professional (doctor, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and registered nurses) providing care to the patient. In such cases, the patient need not undergo a separate severe disability assessment. Today, those who are staying in a nursing home can already approach their nursing home for assistance to submit the Resident's Assessment Form in place of the severe disability assessment.

MOH and AIC will progressively roll out the use of such equivalent assessments and will make the information available via MOH and AIC website.

You can log in to AIC’s eService portal (https://efinance.aic.sg) with your Singpass to update your bank account details for CareShield Life/ElderShield claim payouts.

If you are changing the nominated bank account on behalf of a care recipient who lacks mental capacity, you will need to submit a Mental Incapacity Certification if you have not done so before. Please refer to Additional Guidance on AIC’s website for more information. 

For Singaporeans living overseas
To submit ElderShield claims application, you can use your Singpass to log in to AIC’s online application portal, accessible via https://efinance.aic.sg.

If you are a caregiver who is making a claim application on behalf of a mentally incapacitated ElderShield insured, you can log in using your Singpass to submit the applications on his/her behalf.

For those who has renounced his/her Singapore citizenship
To submit claims application, please email AIC at apply@aic.sg to request for a hardcopy application form.

The transfer of administration allows the Government to administer the ElderShield scheme on a not-for-profit basis, and to use any excess of premiums over claims for insureds’ benefit. The Government, as a single administrator, can achieve better consistency in the implementation of underwriting and claims processes across ElderShield insureds.

It also allows ElderShield insureds to upgrade to CareShield Life more smoothly.

The three private insurers (Singlife, Great Eastern Life & Income Insurance) will continue to administer ElderShield Supplements. The Government will administer CareShield Life and ElderShield, which provide basic protection against long-term care costs, while leaving the private insurers to innovate in the provision of CareShield Life/ElderShield Supplements which provide additional protection.

You will continue to receive your ElderShield payouts as long as you have not completed the 60 months (for ElderShield 300) or 72 months (for ElderShield 400) payout duration and have developed severe disability.

The Government has taken over the administration of ElderShield from insurers from 1 November 2021. 

However, ElderShield Supplements will continue to be administered by the existing ElderShield insurers and will not be transferred to the Government.

ElderShield will be jointly administered by the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).

If you are covered under ElderShield 300/400, no action is required from you now. You will continue to be covered under ElderShield 300/400. You may visit the My Policy e-Service and log in with your Singpass for more information on your policy details.

You will continue to pay the same premiums and enjoy the same benefits under ElderShield for as long as you are covered even after the Government takes over the administration. In the event that the actual claims experience turns out better than expected, there will continue to be premium rebates for ElderShield insureds.

The Government has taken over the administration of ElderShield from 1 November 2021.

As part of the Government’s efforts to go paperless and safeguard the payments process, the Government encourages you to nominate a bank account for interbank GIRO payments.

To nominate a bank account, please log in to Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) eServices for Financing Schemes (eFASS) portal at https://efinance.aic.sg using your Singpass.

Periodic reviews are carried out to check on some individuals’ severe disability status to ascertain their continued eligibility for payouts. As such, if there is a need for you to attend a severe disability review, Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will inform you.

Please note that disability review assessment fees are waived. Please bring along your disability review letter and show it to the MOH-accredited severe disability assessors.