In addressing the urgent issue of 'population ageing,' Singapore possesses a unique social security and welfare system that has attracted many people who have immigrated to Singapore. Singapore firmly avoids the path of Western welfare states, instead maintaining a rational, pragmatic, and East-meets-West character. In Singapore, the elderly are referred to by the special term 'seniors.' They believe that 'the best way to find happiness in life is to respect labor. All states of happiness can be attained through labor, and all states of suffering can be resolved through labor.'
To enable Singaporeans to enter old age with confidence and vitality, and to allow seniors to live healthily while continuing to work, learn, and grow, Singapore has recently launched the 'Action Plan for Successful Ageing.' This plan covers more than 70 projects across 12 areas, including healthcare, retirement adequacy, housing, and transportation. The government will invest 3 billion SGD to support various government agencies, such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Manpower, in promoting this plan.
Since June of the year before last, the Ministerial Committee on Ageing has formulated a series of action plans by collecting feedback from over 4,000 members of the public across different sectors, including grassroots organizations, voluntary welfare groups, academia, the business community, and labor unions, through channels such as focus group discussions. These plans aim to innovate the concept of socialized elderly care, providing seniors with opportunities to continue working, learning, and growing, while building an age-friendly society that allows people to enter old age gracefully and confidently.
According to the plan, the government will legislate next year to raise the re-employment age ceiling from 65 to 67. The SkillsFuture initiative enables seniors to manage their own training and career needs, fostering a spirit of lifelong learning. The tripartite partners (government, employers, and unions) are collaborating with higher education institutions to better manage training programs for older employees. The government will also introduce job redesign toolkits for companies to provide more short-term job opportunities for seniors within the community.
Furthermore, Singapore will establish a new National Silver Academy to provide a learning network for seniors. Seniors who enroll in courses based on their personal interests will not be required to take exams. At the same time, the Silver Volunteer Fund will be created to assist in training senior volunteers, with a goal of recruiting over 50,000 senior volunteers by 2030.
The Ministry of Health will launch several new measures under the National Seniors' Health Program, including public education on dementia and fall prevention. Seniors will receive health booklets to collect their test reports and vaccination records. Mobile medical services will be implemented in communities to bring preventive care services to the doorsteps of seniors.
Over the next 10 years, approximately 10 Build-To-Order (BTO) HDB projects will integrate eldercare facilities and childcare centers to enhance intergenerational interaction and communication. The Ministry of Education will incorporate ageing-related content into the national curriculum to instill in the younger generation an awareness of caring for and respecting the elderly, thereby creating an atmosphere of intergenerational harmony in socialized elderly care.