SINGAPORE: A scheme giving seniors cash when they downsize to a three-room flat or smaller and top up their Central Provident Fund (CPF) balances will be enhanced from December.
Upcoming changes to the Silver Housing Bonus include an additional S$10,000 (US$7,420) cash bonus to those who move into two-room flats or smaller, and tweaking a cash-only CPF top-up requirement to include CPF housing refunds.
The cap for the annual value of private properties that fall under this scheme will also be raised to S$31,000, to support more seniors living in lower-value private properties, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced on Wednesday (Mar 5).
First launched in 2013, the Silver Housing Bonus gives those aged 55 and above a cash bonus of up to S$30,000 for “right-sizing” to a three-room or smaller flat.
To be eligible, seniors must be downsizing from an HDB flat or private property with an annual value not exceeding S$21,000. They also have to top up their CPF Retirement Accounts with cash – capped at S$60,000 per household – and join the CPF Life annuity scheme.
The top-up amount depends on net sale proceeds and the CPF Full Retirement Sum that year. The latter is one of three targets that determine different tiers of guaranteed payouts at the age of 65.
Those whose cash top-ups to their CPF accounts fall under S$60,000 will receive cash bonuses pro-rated at S$1 for every S$2 of top-up.
From Dec 1, seniors will qualify for the Silver Housing Bonus as long as they commit to a net increase of up to S$60,000 in their CPF Retirement Accounts after downsizing to a smaller flat.
The increase can come from CPF housing refunds, which is the amount homeowners have to put back into their CPF accounts if they had tapped on CPF savings to buy a home.
This means seniors “may no longer need to make a cash top-up” to be eligible for the scheme, said the Ministry of National Development and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in a joint press release.
The scheme will also provide an additional S$10,000 cash bonus to seniors who purchase two-room or smaller flats, including community care apartments.
In this case, the additional incentive will “apply regardless” of the amount of top-ups to CPF Retirement Accounts, meaning that eligible seniors can receive cash bonuses of up to S$40,000.
Lastly, the Silver Housing Bonus scheme will be extended to include seniors who owned private properties with annual values of between S$21,000 and S$31,000.
However, this group of seniors will receive a lower cash bonus of up to S$10,000 if they downsize to a three-room flat, or up to S$20,000 for a two-room flat.
More than 15,000 additional seniors will qualify for the scheme under the new eligibility criteria. Altogether, the Silver Housing Bonus scheme will cover more than three in four residential properties, Mr Lee said.
The authorities do not expect changes to the Silver Housing Bonus to have a significant impact on the HDB resale market.
They noted that resale prices of smaller HDB flats “did not see a spike” when the scheme was first introduced in 2013 and later enhanced in 2020.
A senior couple is selling their five-room flat in Yishun for S$705,000, and buying a new three-room flat in Woodlands for S$275,000.
The net sale proceeds amount to S$285,000 after deducting the cost of their new flat, outstanding loan for their current flat (S$100,000) and a resale levy (S$45,000) from the selling price.
Currently, the couple has to make a combined cash top-up of S$60,000 to their CPF Retirement Accounts in order to qualify for the maximum cash bonus of S$30,000.
When the changes kick in from Dec 1, the housing refunds to the couple’s CPF Retirement Accounts will suffice.
As long as the couple commits a combined amount of S$60,000 from here to their CPF Retirement Accounts, they will receive the S$30,000 incentive with no cash top-up required.
In another example, a senior couple will sell their private property in Yishun and move into a two-room flexi flat with a 30-year lease in Woodlands worth S$83,000. The private property has an annual value of S$25,000 and is sold for S$970,000.
Currently, the couple will not be eligible for the scheme as the annual value of their property exceeds S$21,000.
But this will change from Dec 1.
As long as the couple commits a combined amount of S$60,000 from their CPF housing refunds towards their CPF Retirement Accounts, they will receive a S$20,000 cash bonus. Of which, S$10,000 is an additional incentive given to those who downgrade to a two-room or smaller flat.
As part of providing more support to the elderly, it was also announced during Singapore's February Budget statement that the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme will be expanded.
Currently, the programme offers subsidised senior-friendly fittings and installations, such as grab bars and wall-mounted foldable shower seats, to eligible HDB households.
Noting that the programme has been “well-received” by HDB residents, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government will expand it for three years, up to 2028, to private property households. Sharing more details in parliament on Wednesday, Mr Lee said all Singapore citizen households living in private properties with at least one senior will be eligible for EASE.
The senior must be either aged 65 and above or between the ages of 60 and 64 years old and require assistance with at least one or more of the activities of daily living, such as bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, transferring and mobility.
Eligible households will be able to pick a contractor from a list, to supply and install senior-friendly fittings. A subsidy that covers 75 per cent of the cost of these selected fittings will be disbursed, up to a cap of S$1,200.
The expanded EASE programme to private property households is set to be launched by the first quarter of 2026, potentially benefiting more than 70,000 households.
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