ST Explains How changes to CareShield Life will affect policyholders

Benefits and premiums differ depending on socio-economic status, gender and age

- Yap Wei Qiang

National long-term care insurance scheme CareShield Life has been reviewed to keep pace with escalating healthcare costs.

Monthly payouts under the scheme, which was introduced in 2020 to provide lifelong coverage for severe disability, will increase by 4 per cent each year, starting from $689 in 2026.

So will premiums for the next five years.

How will the 2026 CareShield Life changes affect individuals? How do residents know if they are covered, and how do they sign up? ST explains.

1. WHAT IS CARESHIELD LIFE?

CareShield Life is Singapore's mandatory long-term care insurance scheme that provides lifelong monthly payouts for severe disability.

Introduced in 2020, it automatically enrols Singaporeans and permanent residents born in 1980 or later from the age of 30.

Those born in or before 1979 have the option to join CareShield Life. They include people insured under ElderShield, an earlier version of the national insurance scheme against severe disability.

Those born between 1970 and 1979, who were insured under ElderShield 400 and had not developed severe disability, were also automatically enrolled from Dec 1, 2021.

Unlike CareShield Life, which provides lifelong payments, ElderShield claimants receive monthly payouts for a maximum period of five or six years (depending on whether they are on the ElderShield 300 or 400 plan).

The ElderShield payout is fixed at $300 or $400, whereas the CareShield Life payout increases at a pre-determined annual growth rate - up until an individual makes a claim or turns 67.

To claim from CareShield Life, one needs to be assessed to be severely disabled for at least three of the six activities of daily living: washing, toileting, dressing, feeding, transferring and mobility.

2. WHAT ARE THE KEY CHANGES AT A GLANCE?