Are you prepared for retirement?
Everyone wants to age gracefully, but as we grow older, our health will decline. That’s why we must be prepared for the potential problems of old age.
These include serious illnesses like Arthritis, Heart Disease and Stroke, Cancer, Mental Illnesses, as well as Accidents which can all lead to long term disability.
So how can you insure yourself from these illnesses? One of the solutions is ElderShield.
ElderShield is a severe disability insurance scheme.
If you are a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident with a Medisave Account, you’ll be automatically enrolled in ElderShield at the age of 40 unless you opt out of the scheme.
This national healthcare insurance provides monthly cash payout when a person is unable to do at least 3 of the 6 daily activities listed below:
- Washing – The ability to wash in the bath or shower (including getting into and out of the bath or shower) or wash by other means.
- 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 lavatory or manage bowel and bladder function through the use of protective undergarments 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.
There are currently two ElderShield schemes:
- ElderShield300
- ElderShield400
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who join ElderShield before September 2007 will be under ElderShield300 scheme. Those who join after September 2007 will be under ElderShield400 scheme.
For ElderShield300, the monthly cash payout is $300 for a maximum of 60 months.
For ElderShield400, the monthly cash payout is $400 for a maximum of 72 months.
It’s great that ElderShield covers majority of Singaporeans and PRs aged 40 and above. However, is ElderShield300 or ElderShield400 coverage enough?
Probably not, because the ElderShield400 monthly cash payout is only $400.
$400 per month is not enough to pay for Long Term Care which may include Medication, Rehabilitation, Private Nursing, and Increased Transportation costs. This is true in Singapore where healthcare is very expensive.
But what if you already have Life Insurance with Total Permanent Disability Rider?
Most life insurance policies are sold together with Total Permanent Disability Rider. These TPD riders typically pay out a lump sum of money in event of Total Permanent Disability. However, these TPD riders usually terminate at age 65.
So what can you do about it?
The easiest solution is to upgrade your ElderShield payout. You can use up to $600 from your Medisave to pay for your Eldershield upgrade. This can be done through any Financial Planner who to be licensed to sell ElderShield Supplement Plans from Aviva, Great Eastern, or Income (Please note that your Financial Planner need not be from Aviva, Great Eastern, or Income, they just need to licensed to sell the plan.)
For more information on how to upgrade your ElderShield Payout, please contact your Financial Planner.
