Response by SPS Sun Xueling to Motion on Ageing with Purpose

Feb 13, 2019

Mr Speaker, members have made many useful points about how we can help our seniors to Age with Purpose. 

It is not surprising that housing and the design of our urban environment is close to the hearts of many, given that it affects the daily lived experience of all Singaporeans.

Encouraging Active Ageing in Parks

Ms Rahayu Mahzam spoke about how we could build more facilities such as toilets and benches near to senior fitness corners and parks, to encourage seniors to exercise more frequently.

Our parks are enjoyed by families, groups of friends, and Singaporeans of all ages.

All of them have benches and resting spots which seniors may use. In addition, toilets and shelters have been installed in our bigger and more frequented parks, such as our national gardens, regional parks, and nature parks.

NParks has been upgrading our green spaces to encourage seniors to age not only actively, but also comfortably and safely. These efforts include incorporating new senior-friendly amenities such as fitness corners, shelters, toilets, and footpaths; replacing metal drain covers next to footpaths to minimise the risk of seniors tripping and falling over; and also improving lighting in parks.

NParks has made good progress on these initiatives, and will continue to enhance efforts in these areas. For instance, by FY2019, we will have introduced 48 senior-friendly fitness corners and 17 shelters, as well as finished enhancements at various parks; and by FY2020, we will have added 19 new toilets to various parks and park connectors.  

We will continue to review the provision of senior-friendly facilities in our parks.

Senior-Friendly Features in HDB Estates and Commercial Buildings

Apart from parks, we agree with Dr Lily Neo and Ms Tin Pei Ling that it is important to consciously design our housing estates and buildings to be senior-friendly.

Since 2006, all new HDB estates have incorporated Universal Design features. For instance, building common spaces with ramps instead of steps, having barrier-free routes to connect various amenities, having more seating in common spaces, and mounting letter boxes at comfortable heights.

Within the flats, lever door handles and rocker switches are mounted at lower heights, and we have widened corridors and doorways to allow for better wheelchair manoeuvrability. 

Our short lease 2-room Flexi flats which are meant for seniors also come fitted upfront with grab bars, and under the Optional Component Scheme, seniors may choose to have their flats come complete with a wardrobe, kitchen hobs and cabinets. These come with elderly-friendly features such as lower clothes hanging rods for easy reach, and wheels on the bottom kitchen cabinets so that they may be rearranged easily. In addition, seniors can opt for lower kitchen countertops and cabinets, especially for wheelchair users. 

To better facilitate smart systems such as monitoring systems for elderly care, HDB is piloting smart-enabled homes in Punggol’s Northshore district. These homes will be equipped with additional infrastructure, such as additional power and data points, to support the easy installation of smart systems within the flat. We expect these flats to be completed next year.  

For existing blocks, Members will also be familiar with the various upgrading programmes in your respective neighbourhoods, such as EASE which provides senior-friendly features.

Members are also welcome to play a role in adapting the estate to the needs of elderly residents. For instance, Town Councils can add more benches and ramps by tapping on our various upgrading programmes.

And while HDB communal areas are typically not provisioned with toilets as they are located near the resident’s homes, neighbourhood centres or eating establishments so that seniors can have ready access to toilet facilities, nonetheless, should there be demand for public toilets at specific locations in selected precincts where there is an ongoing Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), Members can highlight the request under the NRP. HDB will assess these requests on a case-by-case basis. 

Dr Teo Ho Pin raised the issue of funding caps for CIPC projects. While there are caps in place for items on the CIPC menu, these are meant to ensure prudent use of Government monies.  Nonetheless, we can assess requests on a case-by-case basis. 

Beyond just housing estates, we carefully consider how buildings can be thoughtfully designed to cater to all elderly users and workers. We agree with Mr Zainal Sapari that it is important to provide adequate rest areas for our elderly workers, and we will work with other agencies to look into the member’s suggestion.

Integrated Housing

Ms Joan Pereira suggested building more blocks of integrated housing, similar to Kampung Admiralty. Indeed, Kampung Admiralty has been lauded as a model to be emulated, clinching the World Building of the Year award at the 2018 World Architecture Festival.

In Kampung Admiralty, HDB advanced the concept of being senior-friendly by building an entire development with senior residents in mind, and integrating their housing with healthcare, wellness and eldercare facilities. They also included a childcare centre, shops and eateries that bring the different generations together. It is, as PM said in the National Day message last year, a “high-rise kampung where residents are out and about, socialising with family, friends and neighbours, and yet never too far from home”. 

We will look to do more of such integrated developments, where there are suitable sites.

However, not all seniors may wish to move out of their current residence, as many may prefer to age-in-place. Therefore, the Government’s strategy is also to retrofit existing HDB estates to make them senior-friendly, We will make sure there is a good range of socio-communal facilities such as eldercare and childcare centres so our seniors have good access to the provision of various services, wherever they may be staying.

Assisted Living

Members have also suggested having Group Homes and Assisted Living services for seniors in our public housing, which SMS Amy Khor has responded to. We will share more details at the upcoming Committee of Supply (COS) debates. As for the private sector, MND, MOH and URA agree with Ms Rahayu Mahzam that there is increasing need for more diverse housing options for seniors, particularly those that twin housing and care services, to better allow able seniors to meaningfully age in place. 

Developers and senior care operators have indeed shown interest in providing retirement housing concepts in Singapore. Agencies have been working with them to study and facilitate suitable retirement housing typologies in the private market, that will work for our local context. 

Taking the lessons from the Jalan Jurong Kechil development, one area that we are keenly studying is how best to ensure future retirement housing products in the private market properly cater to their intended demographic, by introducing appropriate controls. We will share more details in due course. 

The regulations are just one aspect. It is also important that the private sector also study the provision of assisted living services to cater to this segment, so that Retirement Housing products can be more meaningful and attractive for seniors in the long-term. These findings will help shape and regulate the development of the private retirement housing market going forward.

Strengthening Family Support

Mr Henry Kwek also touched on how we could facilitate and strengthen family support for our seniors.

MND recognises the role that housing can play in encouraging mutual care and support among family members. Whether it is through introducing flat typologies that are suitable for multi-generational living, such as our 3Gen flats; or helping families to live together or close to one another, through our various grants and schemes.

For instance,  priority schemes such as the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS), the Multi-Generational Priority Scheme and the Senior Priority Scheme, which give flat buyers priority when applying for a new flat with HDB with or near their parents or married children.

And we also have the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) which was only just enhanced last year. Those who purchase a resale flat to live with their parents or children can enjoy a PHG of up to $30,000, while those buying a resale flat to live near their parents or children can enjoy a PHG of up to $20,000.

Public Rental and Flexibility in HDB’s Rules 

Over the years, our public rental flats have played an important role in helping our most vulnerable seniors who face difficulties in securing a roof over their heads. 

Singles currently apply for public rental under the Joint Singles Scheme, and share a flat. Ms Cheryl Chan suggested allowing those with health conditions to live alone.

For those with medical conditions that make it difficult to flat-share, HDB already allows them to rent alone if they have a doctor’s recommendation to do so. And separately, since 2015, HDB has made available some new 1-room rental flats with partitions to create separate sleeping areas for each occupant. Almost 500 of such flats have been completed, and another about 200 are under construction. We will explore how to make more partitioned flats available to Joint Singles.

Ms Cheryl Chan also suggested further fine-tuning the criteria for other groups who may need rental flats.

For seniors with serious illnesses who monetised their homes to fund their treatment, HDB considers their medical conditions and expenses if they appeal for public rental, and exercises flexibility based on their individual circumstances.

Seniors whose family relations have broken down but still own a flat can seek help from Family Service Centres, which would facilitate family reconciliation, and coordinate support for the seniors’ other needs. 

This is important as the senior still has rights to his or her property. If the senior is in urgent housing need in the interim, MSF and HDB will work together to provide accommodation for the senior.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam also spoke about having more flexibility and compassion in assessing applicants’ eligibility for various schemes. As the member has noted, we do exercise flexibility based on the circumstances of each case, but we are happy to engage the member on the specific case that she has raised and assist the resident where needed. 

Flexibility in usage of CPF Monies for Housing

Let me now address Ms Cheryl Chan’s suggestion to allow more flexible usage of CPF OA monies for older HDB flats.

We agree that more can be done to provide flexibility for buyers of shorter lease flats, while still safeguarding their retirement adequacy. We are working with the CPF Board to review and update the CPF rules for the purchase of older flats and will announce them once the details are ready.  

Ms Chan also spoke about seniors having to top up their Retirement Account (RA) in order to qualify for the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS).

The LBS allows seniors to monetise their flat for their retirement needs, while continuing to live in it. As such, the LBS proceeds are first used to meet members’ CPF retirement needs. This ensures that seniors are able to benefit from a lifelong income stream under CPF LIFE. Any remaining amount can then be taken out in cash.

In conclusion, Mr Speaker, our seniors are a treasured part of our Singaporean society, and we will do our best to help them age actively, and retire gracefully in our housing estates and public spaces. 

We will be looking forward to share more details of our plans at the upcoming Committee of Supply debates.

On this note Mr Speaker, I support both motions.