16 Sep 2015
Mr President
As many have rightly pointed out today, ageing will be a transformational demographic challenge for the next generation.
But we are already confronting this challenge in Singapore today. By 2030. 1 in 5 Singaporeans will be 65 and above, compared to around 1 in 9 today.
We want all Singaporeans, in particular our elderly, to live long, live well, live with peace of mind, and more importantly with dignity.
We want to plan ahead to ensure that Singaporeans need not worry about getting old, but instead embrace new opportunities that come with longevity.
To this end, we have been building more nursing homes ahead of demand, upgrading public infrastructure to be more elder-friendly, and implementing elder-friendly policies and programmes – such as anti-fall training, community health screening, and promotion of active ageing.
To give our seniors peace of mind over their medical expenses, the government introduced a “Pioneer Generation Package” in 2014 to help more than 450,000 senior citizens defray basic medical expenses through more subsidies.
Our urban planning is evolving as our population ages. We are making our transport system more senior friendly and our city more walkable, including minimising the risk of falling in city and neighbourhoods.
We have also established a Ministerial Committee on Ageing to manage this important issue in a holistic way through an Action Plan for Successful Ageing.
This Ministerial Committee announced in August 2015 that S$3 billion will be invested to implement the Action Plan.
The Action Plan was formulated after a year-long public consultation exercise involving over 4000 citizens and community leaders.
The Action Plan seeks to help individuals age confidently, build a more cohesive society with inter-generational harmony, and build an age-friendly city that enables seniors to live actively and age-in-place confidently.
Mr President
We aspire to make Singapore the best place for our senior citizens to grow old in, and to be a model for successful ageing.
We are learning the best practices and policies on ageing from other countries. We have also extended an invitation for the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Older Persons to visit Singapore to help us improve our policies and programmes where relevant.
Senior citizens in every society have contributed to the development of their own countries and families. They should be cared for to the best of our ability.
Thank you Mr President.
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