From welfare to funeral services: Seniors in Singapore who live alone get help

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SINGAPORE - Singapore Casket, one of Singapore's oldest and largest funeral services companies, has been assisting in more funerals for seniors who died alone, this year, it said.

For the first eight months of 2021, it has held 36 such funerals, which is more than half of the 47 cases they handled in 2020.

They had 38 such funerals in 2019.

Last Saturday, the decaying remains of an elderly woman, 74, were found in her Bedok North Avenue 2 flat. She had not been seen for over a week, and neighbours detected a rotting smell.

Last December, The Straits Times reported the police had appealed for the next-of-kin to claim the bodies of about 48 people in 2020, through notices posted on their website.

Most of them were above 60 years old, and they died in places like hospitals, welfare homes for the destitute and in their own homes.

And according to the police's website, for the first eight months of this year, the police put up 26 notices appealing for the next of kin of seniors above 61 years old.

Most of them died in places like hospitals and nursing homes.

Singapore Casket's assistant general manager, Mr Calvin Tang, said cases of the elderly dying alone are unpredictable. The company might receive one to two cases one month and eight to 10 the next month.

Mr Tang added that it is usually alerted via hospitals, social workers, religious organisations and senior activity centres. They will then provide free funeral services if the deceased had financial difficulties.

He said: "We will not check their background because we truly believe people will not cheat us in such matters. As long as we know they need help, we will definitely help them. It is our way of contributing to society."

Direct Funeral Services' founder, Mr Roland Tay, said it handles about 20 to 30 of such cases each year and is usually informed by social workers or a relative of the elderly.

Ms Yvonne Ho, general manager of After Life Funeral Service, said of the total number of elderly funerals they handle each year, 10 to 20 per cent of them were seniors without relatives or friends.

Eldercare service providers usually rely on befriending services and regular check-ins to access seniors.

With Covid-19, they now use technology more. Alexandra Hospital's Temi, the robot which visits non-ambulatory elders in Queenstown, is one example.

Another is i-Ok @ Lb, a programme piloted by Lions Befrienders, a charity that provides eldercare support, this year. It equips seniors with a special tablet to update service providers of their conditions daily. Service providers would check on them if the button was not pressed after a stipulated period of time.

It hopes to equip 300 seniors with this tablet by December.

But there are challenges.

Senior consultant Santhosh Kumar Seetharaman, head of the Healthy Ageing Programme at Alexandra Hospital, said the problem for such technology is not access but instead, delivery.

He said: "Although we can make technology available, the uptake will depend on the seniors' restrictions, support with technology and acceptance." 

 

As befrienders can visit seniors only once or twice a week, social services agencies believe other stakeholders must step in to ensure seniors are cared for daily.

Dr Angie Chew, CEO of Brahms Centre, a charity that provides mindfulness programmes alongside eldercare programmes, believes a strong neighbourly community can provide this daily support for age-in-place seniors.

She said: "Everyone can be involved in being neighbourly, looking out and caring for each other. We need to learn to be comfortable in being sociable." 

Madam Yap Lian Hua, 78, lives alone in a three-room flat in Jalan Bukit Ho Swee and says she is not worried as she has strong support from social service agencies which check on her weekly.

She said: "I've lived here for 50 years and my neighbours say 'hello' to me daily."

Madam Teow Swee Cheow, 89, a Lions Befrienders volunteer, knows of seniors dying alone from accidents.

She said: "Sometimes you can just go to the toilet at night, then you slip and fall and have the neighbour find you the next day."

Ms Grace Lee, executive director of Sage Counselling Centre, said: "I heard of a senior who would rather sit at the void deck (before Covid-19) than to be at home so that if he fell ill, someone would be around to help him."

Managing director of Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors, Mr Ang Ziqian, said especially for those who have few or no family connections, they should plan their funerals.

He said: "It is everyone's responsibility to plan our own funeral because our funeral is our own responsibility. It is only when you plan it now that you are able to live well and leave well."

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/from-welfare-to-funeral-services-seniors-in-singapore-who-live-alone-get-help 

 

Use S'pore's Census 2020 to plan your own retirement

Getting a peek at growing trends, such as the aging population, should signal how older folk will need more help

HDB flats in Punggol, with yachts and boats berthed at Marina Country Club. The census noted that about 78.7 per cent of households here live in an HDB flat. However, not all HDB flats are equal, says the writer. Some are more valuable due to location and you have the option to sell and downgrade to a cheaper one if you find yourself short of cash in old age. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

The latest Census of Population has not only uncovered new trends that policymakers will need to address, but also served as a timely reminder that we all need to take stock of how we should run our households.

Some of the statistics, especially on our ageing population, may seem distant if you are young and at the peak of your career. But you should take the once-in-a-decade survey as a peek into the future because if such trends persist, the findings related to senior citizens will apply to you too one day.

So you would do well to see how you can put in place longer-term financial planning strategies that will help you age gracefully and comfortably. Here are three census findings that you should heed.

Property ownership

If you have moved to a condominium in the past decade, congratulations for acquiring the most difficult of the "5Cs" and for increasing private apartment ownership from 11.5 per cent to 16 per cent of the 1.37 million resident households here.

But being a fairly new condominium owner, chances are you still have many years ahead before you pay off your home loan.

When it comes to paying your mortgage, watch your budget so that you can continue to save and plan for your retirement.

For instance, you should use cash as much as possible to pay the loan instead of relying on your Central Provident Fund (CPF) because the 2.5 per cent interest of the Ordinary Account is much higher than the prevailing mortgage interest of about 1 per cent.

In short, it makes no sense using the more valuable CPF to pay off a cheaper loan.

If you deplete this retirement kitty, you risk being an asset-rich and cash poor owner in old age.

A couple living in a private home who still own their Housing Board flat, which generates $2,100 a month in rent, recently wrote to say that they intend to sell the $600,000 flat.

This is because maintaining more than one property is leaving them with low retirement sums in their CPF. Selling the flat will allow them to use part of the proceeds to top up their CPF Life to the prevailing enhanced retirement sum that pays over $2,000 a month from 65.

So the couple stand to receive over $4,000 a month, or double the current rental income. Another big plus is that they no longer have to worry about paying taxes and repair costs for the flat as well as the hassle of finding good tenants.

If you also find yourself in the same asset-rich but low retirement sum scenario, meet CPF Board officials to discuss whether you can enjoy higher CPF Life payouts or whether you should continue to hold on to your investment properties and earn rental income.

What if you have only one home and that's your HDB flat - about 78.7 per cent of households here live in one, the census noted. Around 30 per cent of this group live in four-room units, making them the most common type of home over the past decade.

Not all HDB flats are equal - some are more valuable due to location and you have the option to sell and downgrade to a cheaper one if you find yourself short of cash in old age.

But if you like your neighbourhood and don't want to move, there is another option - sell part of your lease back to the HDB and then increase your CPF Life monthly payout. This allows you to keep living in your flat while having more money to spend every month, for life.

More elderly Singaporeans

That there are more people aged 65 and above here should not surprise you because you can see silver-haired folk regularly the moment you step out.

To put it even more starkly: Around 33 per cent of all households have at least one family member aged 65 or more.

What is even more worrying is that the number of seniors living alone has more than doubled in the past decade, from 27,900 in 2010 to 63,800 last year.

The census also revealed that nearly 98,000, or 2.5 per cent of residents aged five and above, were unable to carry out or struggled with at least one basic activity, which includes seeing, hearing, walking, concentrating, dressing or communicating. Most of those suffering from such conditions are aged 65 and above.

As the population ages, the burden falls on many of us as we must factor in the additional expenses of taking care of our elderly parents.

Many underestimate their needs for retirement, including seniors who used to earn decent salaries themselves. For instance, you may think it is enough to go on $3,000 a month at 65 and since you have $700,000 saved up, that's more than enough to last you through 85.

Chances are folk who think this way have not factored in other kinds of expenses, such as healthcare costs and medical insurance, which will be hefty as they age.

Last year, an HSBC poll noted that about 50 per cent of Singapore workers said their parents had difficulty coping with retirement due to insufficient savings. These include parents of families with high-income earners.

The survey also found that most of those earning under $40,000 annually could not afford to pay for most of their parents' needs because they have to take care of their own families.

Not surprisingly, it is common to see folk in their 70s and 80s rejoining the workforce as menial workers today.

This part of the census should be a wake-up call for all families - it is critical to plan for lifelong income in old age by ensuring you have sufficient savings to join the CPF Life annuity scheme that guarantees stable monthly payouts from 65.

If you have elderly parents, it may be a stretch to ensure they too have adequate CPF Life payouts now without affecting your own family's retirement needs later.

But do consider putting them on CareShield Life at least, when the scheme, which is affordable, opens to those aged 41 and older soon. This scheme aims to provide at least $600 a month to those needing help to perform at least three of the basic essential tasks of life such as showering and walking so their families can consider paying for caregivers.

The census has given you a peek at possible future trends and you would do well to be ready for it before you join the greying population too.

Correction note: An earlier version of the story mentioned the benefit of claiming up to $7,000 worth of tax rebates annually for topping up the Special Account. The story has been corrected to say that the benefit should be to claim tax relief. 

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/use-spores-census-2020-to-plan-your-own-retirement dated 27 Juen 2021

Switzerland’s Time Bank

Switzerland’s Time Bank 

The number of “empty-nesters” is increasing and becoming a serious issue throughout the world. Switzerland’s idea of the “time bank” for the seniors may be a good inspiration. What is a time bank? Time-based units accumulate in the time bank and can be used to purchase time-based services from other individuals when needed. Switzerland, with its long traditions of alternative currencies, banking and social solidarity, is home to numerous time banking programs. A Chinese student studying in Switzerland made a statement based on his experience. I rented a house near the school during my stay in Switzerland. Christina, my landlord, was a 67-year-old lady who worked as a teacher in a school before she retired. Switzerland’s retirement plan makes her worry-free in her later years. However, it surprised me when I found out that she has a “job” which is to take care of an 87-year-old senior who lives alone. I wondered if she doing this for money. Her answer surprised me: “I am not doing this for money, I am doing this to earn my time in the time bank. When I’m getting older and having a hard time taking care of myself, I can withdraw the ‘saving’ and use it.” When I first heard about the concept of a time bank, I was so curious and asked Christina about it. The original “Time Bank” was a retirement project developed by the Swiss Federal Ministry of Social Insurance. They start to save time from taking care of the seniors when they are young, and then using it when they get old, sick, or need someone to take care of them. All applicants must be healthy, communicative and kind enough enable to spend some time taking care of the seniors who need help. The hours of service will be deposited in the personal account of the social security system. She has to take care of Lisa twice a week who lives alone and needs care services. She will spend two hours each time helping her to run some errands, cleaning, taking her out for a walk and chatting with her. According to the agreement, after one year of her service, the time bank will calculate her work hours and sending her a “time bank card”. When she needs someone to take care of her, she can withdraw the time that she has been saving at the time bank. After they verified, the time bank will assign a volunteer to the hospital or her home to for the service. There was a time when I got a phone call from Christina, she said she fell down while she was cleaning the window. I rushed back home and sent her to the hospital. After being examined by a doctor, Christina’s ankle cracked and needed to stay in bed for a while. Just as I was applying for days off to take care of her, she told me that I didn’t have to worry about her; she already filed in the application to withdraw her time from the bank. Within two hours, the time bank sent a volunteer to take care of her. Nowadays, “Time Bank” has become a common practice in Switzerland. It does not only save its country’s retirement expenses but also solves some other social issues. Many Swiss are very supportive of this type of senior care. According to the Swiss retirement agency survey, more than half of the young Swiss also want to participate. The Swiss government also specializes in legislation to support this “time bank” retirement system.

Source: https://www.caipa.com/community/latest-news/switzerlands-time-bank/ dated 21 June 2021