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Oral Answer by Minister of State Ms Gan Siow Huang to PQ on Silver Support

Employment practices

NOTICE PAPER NO. 182 OF 2020 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 4 JANUARY 2021

QUESTION NO. 438 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the circumstances under which the Silver Support payout quantum may be reduced for beneficiaries; and (b) whether there are ways by which changes may be better explained to reduce the anxiety and other negative consequences for the seniors who are unaware or do not expect the drop.

  1. The Silver Support Scheme helps seniors who had low incomes during their working years and now have less for retirement. The Government will disburse about $600 million in Silver Support payouts to almost 250,000 seniors in 2021. This is nearly double the $330 million paid out to 150,000 seniors in 2020.


  2. As part of the scheme enhancements that were implemented this year, we introduced a new payout tier for seniors with higher household monthly income per person. Prior to 2021, seniors who experience an improvement in circumstances may no longer receive Silver Support. With the new payout tier, such seniors could continue to receive Silver Support payouts of a reduced quantum.

  3. All seniors who are eligible for Silver Support in any given year are automatically notified of their payout amounts by CPF Board in December of the preceding year. The letter and its accompanying infographic that explains the eligibility criteria are written in all four languages and those with registered SingPass mobile numbers will also receive an SMS notification.

We appreciate that some seniors may need help to understand changes to their payouts. They may visit the Silver Support website to check their eligibility status. They may also call the CPF Board hotline to check their eligibility status and reasons for their changes in payouts. We will consider appeals on a case-by-case basis. We are also reviewing the feasibility of informing recipients of the specific reason(s) for their changes in their payout quantum.