What is Careshield Life and why you need it. [ultimate begineer guide]

If you are here, you probably are above 30, and you have received a letter from the government indicating that you were enrolled in care shield life. You probably have questions regarding what this plan is all about. Don’t worry; we will break down and explain what is careshield life and how you can get better coverage!

What is the Risk of Disability in Singapore

According to the government, 1 in 2 healthy Singaporeans aged 65 could become severely disabled in their lifetime and may need long-term care.

Severe Disability may be due to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia or sudden unexpected events such as stroke or accidents.

What is CareShield Life?

CareShield Life is a disability-income insurance scheme covering individuals with severe disabilities. It is a mandatory government scheme that helps to pay for long-term care costs, such as nursing home care or home care.

Under CareShield Life, every Singaporean will be covered for life, regardless of their health condition. Even if you develop a serious illness or disability later in life, the scheme will still cover you.

What is a severe disability?

A severe disability is any disability that significantly limits a person’s physical or mental abilities. Most people with severe disabilities require some level of assistance with activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, and eating. 

In Singapore, severe disability is the inability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL).

What are the 6 Activities of Daily Living?

The six activities of daily living (ADLs) are washing, toileting, dressing, feeding, mobility and transferring (moving from one position to another).

Failure to perform any one of these is considered having a disability.

Classification of Disability:

• Inability to do 3ADL – Severe disability
• Inability to do 2ADL – Moderate disability
• Inability to do 1ADL – Mild disability

What is the payout?

Careshield Life pays out when someone attains Severe disability.

Careshield Life gives a monthly payout of $600/ month starting in 2020 and increases annually till age 67 (at about 2% per year).

Careshield will payout the said amount every month for life.

Who Will Be Covered?

CareShield Life is a new, government-backed insurance scheme that will provide lifelong coverage for all Singaporeans. The scheme will replace the existing Eldershield and MediShield schemes and will cover all Singaporeans from age 30 onwards.

How can I participate in Careshield life?

All Singaporeans and Permanent Residents born after 1980 will be auto-enrolled into Careshield Life. Those born before 1980 can choose to opt-in using your Singpass. Due to the immense low cost of Careshield Life, we recommend all Singaporeans to opt-in.

Do we really need CareShield Life?

Very often, people who become severely disabled cannot work or care for themselves. Careshield life provides at least $600/month, which can offset the bills required to hire a caregiver or long-term care in a nursing home! Hence it will be able to make a big difference for someone who is severely disabled.

How much are the premiums [premium table]?

Careshield life premiums vary yearly and age to age; you can check your premiums here!

All premiums are fully payable by your Medisave. Hence you do not have to worry about paying for premiums with cash!

Should you upgrade with CareShield Supplement?

Based on the payouts, we feel that Singaporeans should upgrade Careshield life! This is because a payout of $600/month is hardly sufficient for caregiver costs.

The average cost to hire caregivers in Singapore is $23/ hour. It would cost about $183 to $230 for a day of work. For 20 days of work, it would cost at least $3600.

Even cheaper options, such as nursing homes, would cost an estimated $1200 to $3000+.

Hence, the $600/month payout is insufficient.

Comparison for the best CareShield Life supplement

Currently, the government only authorized Great Eastern, NTUC Income, Prudential, and Singlife to provide upgrade. After comparison, we found that Great Eastern’s Great Careshield is the most value-for-money upgrade. View our Full Careshield Supplement Comparison here!

NTUC, Singlife and Prudential plans are inferior as they do not allow claims for mild disability (1ADL) and are more pricey for less coverage.

How do you make a CareShield Life claim?

You should contact the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to make a claim. The AIC is a government agency that helps to coordinate and supplement your care.

AIC typically requires a disability assessment by a MOH-accredited severe disability assessor.

As the Careshield life council will regularly review the claims process, we suggest you visit the website here for more information: https://www.aic.sg/careshieldlife

Can I opt-out of CareShield Life?

No, you cannot. This is because CareShield Life is a compulsory long-term care insurance scheme that all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents aged 30 and above must join.

As we age, the risk of developing a disability that prevents us from performing these activities independently increases. By having CareShield Life, we know that we will be taken care of financially if disability happens.

Plus the premiums are rather affordable and can be fully paid for by your Medisave, so why opt out? It’s practically cash-free insurance!

Special Promotion:

Currently, Great Eastern and Singlife have 20% perpetual discount; get your plan soon. Get a quote from our specialist and get an additional $20 voucher when you make a purchase with us! Click here!

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information regarding Careshield life visit the Careshield Website!