70 initiatives to Enable Singaporeans to Age Confidently

Launch of Action Plan for Successful Ageing Report Kickstarts Dialogue on “The Future of Ageing”

1.     The Ministerial Committee on Ageing released the full Action Plan for Successful Ageing report today.  The Action Plan details more than 70 initiatives to empower Singaporeans to age confidently and lead active lives, with strong bonds with family and community. This follows the announcement from Minister-in-Charge of Ageing Mr Gan Kim Yong in August last year, that the Government would commit $3 billion to implement the Action Plan in partnership with the private and people sectors.

2.     The official report and website for the Action Plan for Successful Ageing were launched today by Senior Minister of State for Health Dr Amy Khor at an SGfuture dialogue session on the “Future of Ageing”.

3. This Action Plan cuts across 12 areas – health and wellness, learning, volunteerism, employment, housing, transport, public spaces, respect and social inclusion, retirement adequacy, healthcare and aged care, protection for vulnerable seniors and research.

4.     The Action Plan captures ideas and initiatives from grassroots leaders, voluntary welfare and non-profit organisations, academia, businesses, community and union leaders, from the Government’s series of consultations which involved more than 4,000 Singaporeans from 2014 to 2015. 

5.     Dr Amy Khor said, “The Action Plan is our response to population ageing. Population ageing is not something to fear, but a great opportunity for Singaporeans to maximise the opportunities from longevity. The Plan will enable us to build Singapore into the best home to age in. But this Plan can only be achieved if we work together. The Plan is only the start of our journey. We want to hear more ideas from Singaporeans through the SGfuture dialogues and work with them on concrete projects to build a Nation for All Ages.” 

6.     The Action Plan reflects our aspirations for a Nation for All Ages and includes initiatives in three areas.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL AGES

Longevity is opportunity. Seniors will have opportunities to continue working, learning and growing as they enjoy many more years of healthy life. 

KAMPONG FOR ALL AGES

Cohesive home with inter-generational harmony. Singapore must be a cohesive community where seniors can age actively and happily. We will involve the public, people and private sectors to strengthen community support for our seniors and to care for them.

CITY FOR ALL AGES

Live well and age confidently in place. We want to transform Singapore into an age-friendly city where Singaporeans can age-in-place gracefully and confidently. 

7.    The list of the key initiatives and targets can be found in the ANNEX. 

8.    The Ministerial Committee on Ageing will distribute 40,000 copies of the Action Plan report to partners who were involved in the public consultation, as well as to the public over the next few months. The public can also download the full report from the Action Plan for Successful Ageing website (www.successful-ageing.sg). 

9.    At the same time, the Ministry of Health is also organising a series of SGfuture dialogues. Sixty representatives from VWOs, youth organisations, schools, academia and grassroots etc attended the session today on the Future of Ageing. More information can be found on the SGfuture website(www.sg/sgfuture).

MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON AGEING

24 FEBRUARY 2016

ANNEX

Key Initiatives and Targets of the Action Plan for Successful Ageing*

Lifelong Employability

• The re-employment age will be raised from 65 to 67 by 2017, to enable workers to work longer if they are willing and able to, with the possibility of further increases in the future as our population ages.

Health and Wellness

• A National Seniors’ Health Programme that will reach over 400,000 older adults.

• A new workplace health programme that will target 120,000 mature workers aged 40 and above.

Senior Learning

• A National Silver Academy that will eventually provide some 30,000 learning places for seniors to pursue their interests.

• We aim to have 100 schools and Voluntary Welfare Organisations/ community organisations to come on board the Intergenerational Learning Programme.

Senior Volunteerism

• We aim to recruit an additional 50,000 senior volunteers.

Community Befriending

• Expand home visitation programmes in at least 50 neighbourhoods to keep social isolation and poor health at bay among vulnerable seniors.

Inter-generational Harmony

• Co-locate eldercare and childcare facilities in some 10 new Housing & Development Board housing developments.

Aged Care

Between 2015 and 2020, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will:

• More than double the number of Community Hospital beds.

• Increase nursing home capacity by more than 70%.

• Increase home and community care places by 50% and 100% respectively.

Active Ageing and Assisted Living

• MOH has planned another 40 day centres for seniors by 2020. About a quarter of these centres will be large Active Ageing Hubs in housing developments, providing active ageing and assisted living services to seniors.

Transport

The Land Transport Authority will:

• Implement 35 Silver Zones by 2020.

• Double the number of Green Man Plus traffic lights from the current 500 to 1,000 by end-2018.

• Install lifts at an additional 41 pedestrian overhead bridges by 2018.

• Replace all buses with wheelchair-accessible ones by 2020.

Research

• The National Research Foundation will set aside up to $200 million for a National Innovation Challenge on Active and Confident Ageing to catalyse research related to ageing.

* We plan to achieve the targets within the next 10-15 years, except where stated otherwise.