Pioneer and Merdeka Generation Seniors to Receive $270 Million in MediSave Top-Ups in July 2022

1.  Pioneer Generation (PG) and Merdeka Generation (MG) seniors will be receiving MediSave top-ups in July 2022, amounting to about $270 million in total. 

2.  MediSave can be used to pay the premiums for MediShield Life, CareShield Life and other MediSave-approved insurance plans, as well as selected medical expenses such as hospitalisation, day surgeries, and outpatient treatments. 

3.  About 450,000 Pioneers and 500,000 MG seniors have benefitted from MediSave top-ups as part of the PG and MG Packages, since their launch in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

4.  The PG and MG MediSave top-ups are provided in addition to the annual GST Voucher – MediSave top-ups [1] for eligible Singaporeans aged 65 and above.

Eligible Pioneers will receive MediSave Top-Up of up to $900 

5.  Pioneers will receive MediSave top-ups of between $250 to $900 each year. Additionally, older Pioneers (aged 83 years and above in 2022) who have serious pre-existing conditions will receive further top-ups of $50 to $200 per year from 2021 to 2025 (see Table 1) to help them pay their higher MediShield Life premiums. This was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on 21 December 2020 as part of our commitment to keep premiums affordable for our Pioneers who have generally accumulated less MediSave than younger Singaporeans. The top-ups for Pioneers will amount to about $170 million this year. More information on the benefits of the PG Package are at Annex A. 

Table 1: Pioneer Generation Annual MediSave Top-Ups

6.  With these enhancements, Pioneers aged 88 and above in 2022 will continue to see their MediShield Life premiums fully covered. Younger Pioneers will have about two-thirds of their MediShield Life premiums covered. 

Eligible MG Seniors will Receive a MediSave Top-Up of $200

7.  The MG Package, which was introduced in 2019, supports our MG seniors to stay active and healthy and provides them with greater assurance over their healthcare costs in their silver years. More information on the benefits of the MG Package is at Annex B.

8.  MG seniors will receive $200 in MediSave top-ups every year from 2019 to 2023. This is the fourth year that MG seniors are receiving their MediSave top-ups. The top-ups will amount to over $90 million this year. 

Go Digital to Receive Your PG and MG MediSave Top-up Notification Earlier 

9.  Eligible Pioneers and MG seniors who have downloaded and completed their one-time set up on the Singpass app will receive the PG and MG MediSave top-up notifications in their app inbox by 21 June 2022, informing them of the amount of MediSave top-up they would be eligible for. 

10.  Those who have not set up their Singpass app, but have registered their mobile numbers with Singpass before 12 June 2022, will receive an SMS by 21 June 2022, notifying them on the amount of top-up they are eligible for. The rest of the eligible seniors will receive letters by end-June 2022. 

11.  To guard against scams, the SMS notification (sent by “MOF” or “MOH”) will only inform seniors of their benefits. Seniors will not be asked to reply to the SMS or provide any information to the sender. No messages on PG Package and MG Package will be sent via WhatsApp or other mobile app messaging platforms. 

More Information on PG and MG Packages

12.  More information on the PG Package and MG Package is available at go.gov.sg/pgpackage and go.gov.sg/mgpackage respectively.

13.  For clarifications, seniors may call or email:

a.  1800 2222 888 (PG and MG Packages); 1800 650 6060 (healthcare matters); or
b.  contactus@pioneers.gov.sg / contactus@merdeka.gov.sg.  

Issued by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health

Singapore

13 June 2022

*****

[1] The amount of GST Voucher – MediSave that a senior citizen can receive is dependent on age, Annual Value (AV) of place of residence, and the number of properties owned. More information can be found at https://www.gstvoucher.gov.sg.

[2] The additional MediSave top-up is only applicable from 2021 to 2025.