If you are a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, you’ve probably heard of ElderShield.
It is a severe disability insurance that provides a monthly cash payout of up to $400/month in event of disability. But have you heard of CareShield Life?
CareShield Life is planned “upgrade” of the current ElderShield scheme and will be launched in 2020.
It provides better protection than ElderShield in 4 ways.
| CareShield Life | ElderShield |
|---|---|
| Lifetime Cash Payouts for as long as you are severely disabled | Cash Payouts for up to 72 months (6 years) |
| Payouts increase over time. It starts at $600 per month in 2020 and increase until age 67, or when you make claims, whichever is earlier. | Payouts are $400 for ElderShield400 scheme and $300 for ElderShield300 scheme. |
| Government Subsidies to make it more affordable by providing means-tested premium subsidies of up to 30%
Source: https://www.moh.gov.sg/careshieldlife/about-careshield-life/premiums-and-premium-support |
If you are unable to pay premiums, you may still be able to receive some payouts if you have paid a minimum amount of premiums. The level of payouts you can receive will depend on the amount of premiums paid.
Source: https://www.moh.gov.sg/careshieldlife/about-eldershield/premiums |
| Premiums can be fully payable by Medisave | You can use up to $600/year from your Medisave to pay for premiums |
Source: https://www.moh.gov.sg/careshieldlife/about-careshield-life
How can you join CareShield Life?
- If you are born between 1980 or after, you will be automatically covered by CareShield Life in 2020.
- If you are born between 1970 and 1979 and are insured under the ElderShield 400 scheme and are not severely disabled, you will be automatically covered by CareShield Life from 2021. If you are automatically covered and do not wish to participate in the scheme, you have up to 31 Dec 2023 to opt out from the scheme and get your premiums refunded.
Should you opt out of CareShield Life?
Probably not. Because severe disability will not just result in a loss of income for the individual, the long term treatment is also very costly. When a person does not get sufficient coverage, their entire family’s finances will suffer greatly when misfortunate strikes.
This is why having adequate disability coverage is important. For a start, you can consider upgrading your ElderShield coverage to $1,000/month before switching over to CareShield Life in 2020. Speak to your Financial Planner for more information today.
