The Pre-Medisave Top-Up Scheme is to help older Singaporeans who retired before or soon after the introduction of Medisave to build up their Medisave accounts. The first two instalments under the Scheme had been paid in January 1996 and January 1997. The third and last instalments are to be paid in January 1998 and January 1999, subject to the state of the economy. As the economy has done reasonably well, I am happy to confirm that the Government will pay the third instalment of the Pre-Medisave Top-Up Scheme in January 1998 as scheduled.

The top-up grant will be paid into the CPF Medisave accounts of eligible Singaporeans who are 63 years or older on 1 April 1997. For this third instalment, the co-payment required will be $20. In the first two instalments, not all eligible persons participated in the scheme as some might have had difficulties making the $50 co-payment. Lowering the co-payment to a token $20 is a special gesture to enable as many elderly Singaporeans as possible to benefit from the scheme whilst maintaining the principle that health care should be a joint responsibility between the individuals, their families and the Government.

Eligible recipients will have to make the co-payment of $20 between now and 31 December 1997 into their CPF Medisave Account. The Government will match this $20 with a contribution of $100 to $350 depending on the age group. 300,000 senior citizens qualify for this scheme and the total cost of this, if fully taken up, is $85 million.