Since the inception of the Pioneer Generation Package and the Merdeka Generation Package in 2014 and 2019 respectively, about 450,000 Pioneer Generation (PG) seniors and 500,000 Merdeka Generation (MG) seniors have benefitted from them.
Senior Minister of State for Finance Chee Hong Tat said in Parliament today (Oct 20) that the Singapore government set aside S$8 billion and S$6.1 billion for the PG Fund and the MG Fund respectively at their inception.
This money was set aside to ensure that the government “honours our commitment to PG and MG seniors, regardless of future economic or fiscal circumstances”, SMS Chee explained.
About S$3.04 billion from the PG Fund and S$0.72 billion from the MG Fund have been disbursed so far. SMS Chee added that the government will monitor these funds and top them up if necessary.
In recent years, the PG and MG benefits have also been enhanced through, for instance, incentives for PG and MG seniors who joined CareShield Life and higher annual Medisave top-ups for PG seniors.
“This is part of our efforts to prepare Singapore for an ageing society and why the government needs to ensure we have sufficient fiscal resources to support and care for our seniors,” he said.
Channeling the balance to enhance Silver Support
Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked whether the balances from the PG and MG fund be funnelled to enhance the Silver Support Scheme.
Silver Support provides a quarterly cash supplement to seniors who had low incomes during their working years and now have less in their retirement and is part of the PAP Government’s commitment to give seniors greater assurance in retirement.
SMS Chee explained that the PG and MG funds are geared towards providing for the healthcare for PG and MG seniors as compared to Silver Support, which supports seniors who didn’t accumulate enough CPF balances.
“So the objective is different from PG and MG but we will look at both very carefully. I think for MG and PG as I mentioned in my main reply, if it’s necessary to top about these funds, the PG fund and the fund, we will do so, to honour our commitments to our PG and MG seniors. And for Silver Support, we have been regularly reviewing the amount and also the criteria to see how we can help our seniors who need this assistance when they retire,” he concluded.
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