Things you could do for: elderly/individuals with disabilities

Camila Rahim
Jul 11, 2020
5 min read

Updated: Sep 12, 2020

This post main focus is about financial support and assistance from the Singapore Government for the elderly with disabilities or person with disabilities (PWDs). There are two known organisations: AIC and SG Enable that provide support for assistive technology devices such as wheelchairs, walking sticks/aides, hearing aids and home healthcare items (eg. adult diapers, nutritional milk supplements, etc). An Occupational Therapist/Physiotherapist/Social Worker will apply this fund for you through the Hospital or Social Service Agencies after your functional assessment sessions and they will further explain the respective schemes.

Before I explain the different schemes, I would like to highlight why falls are crucial to the elderly. A fall could cause an injury eg. fracture and this injury/fracture will eventually result to recurring fractures and other comorbidities (presence of one or more chronic or long-term conditions) due to slow recovery rate. Hence, the elderly will be frail and no longer as independent as their previous self. There are different levels of frailty, as I have written in my other post. I hope this little introduction will bring awareness to the importance of elderly health (geriatric).

AIC (Agency for Integrated Care)

AIC stands for Agency for Integrated Care and they offer Senior's Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF). This SMF fund provides subsidies for assistive devices and home healthcare items as it is in support of the ageing population in Singapore elderly aged 60 and above. However, SMF is also a means-tested subsidy based on the income within a household in order to purchase the assistive technology devices and home healthcare items. A means-tested is a financial assessment to calculate total household monthly income so as to determine the amount of subsidy a person will receive from using social supports. Means-tested is similar to PCI (Per Capita Income) in financial assistance schemes to support lower-income families. Read below for the eligibility criteria or visit the website. In addition, SMF is easily approved for any disabled individuals by the therapists or social worker and could receive assistive devices within days.

Home Care Giving Fund is part of the AIC: Long Term Care Schemes are only applicable to patients who requires assistance in carrying out Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This fund supports the care of the patient at home by providing SGD$200 per month, but the patient needs to meet the eligibility criteria shown below.

Long Term Care Schemes supports the disability range from mild - severe, refer to the chart below.

Under this Long Term Care Schemes by AIC, you could apply for the individuals with mild - severe disabilities a Levy Concession for a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) at SGD$60 per month, if you hired a FDW to care for the patient. Do visit the website for further details.

As for severe disability, AIC has two schemes known as the Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) or Elderfund.

IDAPE supports with SGD$250 or SGD$150 per month, for up to 72 months.

Read the eligibility criteria on the left.

Elderfund is mainly for needy patients and supports with SGD$250 or SGD$150 per month for life. Read the eligibility criteria on the right.

Visit the website for further details, click here.

SG Enable Schemes - ATF

SG Enable Schemes has four respective schemes in financial aid: Accessibility, Early Intervention Programmes, Equipment Technology & Home Retrofit and Transport. I will be focusing on Equipment Technology & Home Retrofit Scheme supports the Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) and Transport: Person with Disabilities Concession Card.

Assistive Technology Fund (ATF)

ATF provides subsidies for PWDs to assist with the cost of assistive technology devices (eg. wheelchair, hearing aids, etc). Successful applicants qualify for a means-tested subsidy of up to 90% of the cost of the required equipment, subject to a lifetime cap of $40,000. Just like SMF (discussed above) and EASE (discussed next), an Occupational Therapist/Physiotherapist/Social Worker will apply this fund for you through the Hospital or Social Service Agencies after your functional assessment sessions/appointment and after contacting the vendor for the respective product suitable for you. This scheme takes a longer time of 2 weeks to 1 month to process your application, unlike AIC for SMF. Read below for the eligibility criteria or visit the website.

Persons with Disabilities Concession Cards

This is a very simple and useful scheme if the individual (age 7-60 years old) uses public transport and has a permanent disability. The 3 documents you need to apply for this concession is NRIC, latest passport picture and latest doctor memorandum or functional assessment report. Submit these documents online through Singpass or post the hardcopies to SG Enable. It will take up to 2 weeks for SG Enable to process the application and up to 4 weeks for Transitlink to process the concession card upon SG Enable's approval.

What will the persons with disabilities get?

25% discount or more off adult fares for all basic bus and train services fares
No additional fares for distances beyond 7.2km
Option to purchase a Hybrid Concession Pass (HCP) with unlimited rides on basic bus services and trains at $60 per month

Refer to Transitlink and SG Enable: Transport for further details regarding the Persons with Disabilities Concession Cards.

HBD (Housing & Development Board)

HDB introduced Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme in 2012 in support of the ageing population to prevent falls to the elderly. EASE programme provides subsidies for home modifications in an elderly HDB home. This programme covers all flat types (1-5 room and executives) and the pricing differs.

HDB EASE programme able to install:

Slip-resistant treatment to floor tiles in up to two bathrooms or toilets
Grab bars in the flat (eight or 10 grab bars for the first toilet, and six grab bars for the second toilet)
Up to five ramps in the flat, and/or at the main entrance — if possible to construct

EASE can be easily applied through your occupational therapist/physiotherapist/social worker. So please do mention this during your appointment in the hospital. Or you could directly apply online here with the required documents. It is recommended to discuss this with your occupational therapist/physiotherapist/social worker during your appointment to know what is suitable for you as well as the pricing for the respective HBD Flat types.

To qualify in the EASE programme:

You are a Singaporean flat owner with a member of your family living with you who is 65 years and older, or
You are a Singapore flat owner with at least one household member between the ages of 60 and 64, who needs help with at least three of six activities of daily living (ADLs). ADLs are (1) Washing, (2) Dressing, (3) Feeding, (4) Toileting, (5) Mobility, and (6) Transferring.

On a short note, these the important Documents to apply for any schemes or programme: