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Eldershield is an insurance scheme to help those with severe disabilities cope with the financial demands of their daily care.

Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) with Medisave accounts are automatically covered under ElderShield at the age of 40. Your ElderShield premium is determined at the age of entry and does not increase with your age. Premiums are payable annually until you reach the age of 65. You can pay for the premiums using Medisave or cash.

There are currently 2 ElderShield schemes: ElderShield 300 and ElderShield 400.

ElderShield 300 was first launched in September 2002 and offers a payout of $300 per month for a maximum of 60 months.

ElderShield 400 came about after the ElderShield reform in 2007 and offers an improved coverage with payout of $400 per month for a maximum of 72 months. Singapore Citizens and PRs who join ElderShield after September 2007 will be on the ElderShield 400 scheme.

As an ElderShield policyholder, you will be able to claim benefits at any age for the rest of your life once you have paid the premiums. Simply put, for someone who becomes severely disabled at age 70 or 80, or even at age 90 and beyond, he can still get the $300 monthly cash payout up to 60 months or $400 monthly cash payout up to 72 months under the ElderShield 300 and ElderShield 400 schemes respectively.

In 2007, the Ministry of Health made changes to the ElderShield scheme to ensure that it caters well to the evolving needs of Singaporeans. There are 2 key changes in the ElderShield reform.

Firstly, the monthly payout is raised from $300 to $400 and the maximum payout period has been extended from 60 to 72 months.

Secondly, ElderShield policyholders who wish to obtain higher severe disability insurance coverage can purchase ElderShield Supplements, which complement ElderShield by offering additional benefits at different pricing levels. Premiums for ElderShield Supplements can be paid using Medisave (up to a limit of $600 per year per person insured) or by cash. Singaporeans now have a wider choice of severe disability insurance products to meet their individual needs.

For those who wish to have higher payouts and/or longer payout period, you may consider purchasing ElderShield Supplements from any of the approved private insurers.

Severe disability is the inability of an individual to perform at least three of the six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) independently, with or without mobility aids (e.g. walking aids, wheelchair). This means that the individual will require the physical assistance of another person for the ADL.

The six ADLs include:

• Washing
• Dressing
• Feeding
• Toileting
• Walking Or Moving Around
• Transferring

No. MediSave is Singapore’s National Healthcare Savings Scheme. All working employees and employers must contribute a portion of their monthly income to their MediSave account every month. You cannot withdraw any money from your MediSave account, other than to pay for medical expenses, or to purchase government approved insurance schemes like MediShield and ElderShield.

MediShield Life is a basic health insurance introduced by the Singapore Government to protect Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents from costly medical expenses due to hospitalization and surgery.

MediShield Life can be used to claim for:

• Daily ward charges
• Surgical operations
• Certain outpatient treatments like cancer treatments and kidney dialysis, subject to the withdrawal limit

While MediShield Life provides a basic level of coverage, it is important to understand that it does not cover 100% of your hospital bills because of:

• Deductibles
• Co-insurance
• Sub-limits

The deductible is the amount of money you need to pay out of your own pocket before you can make a claim from the insurer. For example if MediShield Life has a deductible of $3,000, you need to pay the first $3,000 of your medical expenses before you can claim anything from the insurer.

MediShield co-insurance is the sharing of payment between the you and the insurer (after you have paid the deductible). For example if the MediShield co-insurance is 10%, it means you need to pay 10% of your hospital bills, while the insurer pays the rest of the 90%.

MediShield sub-limit is the maximum amount of compensation you can claim from the insurer under a specific claim category. For example, if the MediShield sub-limit for day surgery is $2,000, it means that if the maximum amount you can claim from the insurer for day surgery is limited to $2,000 per surgery. Anything expenses exceeding that amount will not be covered.