Reviewing Grant for Families to Hire Foreign Domestic Workers for Care of Disabled Elderly

Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will review the grant to help families hire foreign domestic workers to care for elderly persons with disabilities; (b) how many households are currently receiving this grant; and (c) what is the Government's annual expenditure on this grant since it was introduced in 2012.

The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for Health): The Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Grant was introduced in 2012. It provides a monthly grant of $120 to support households who need to hire FDWs to care for seniors and persons with moderate disabilities. We do not have plans to increase the grant quantum at the moment, as the current grant quantum is generally adequate.

Besides the FDW Grant, these households are also eligible for FDW concessionary levy. The concessionary levy was lowered from $120 to $60 per month from May 2015, compared to the normal levy of $265 per month. Pioneers can get additional cash payouts to help with their expenses through the Pioneer Generation-Disability Assistance Scheme.

We also have other financial schemes to help defray the cost of caring for elderly with more severe disabilities. Examples include the Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) and the ElderShield, which is a disability insurance scheme.

As at December 2015, about 6,200 households are receiving the grant with the Government providing a total grant amount of $8.4 million in 2015. Since 2012, at least 10,400 households have benefited from this grant, with the Government grant totalling $20.6 million.

We will continue to monitor the utilisation and adequacy of the FDW Grant.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the answer. I am asking the question in the context that in my constituency, there is an increasing number of elderly and elderly with disabilities as well.

One supplementary question that I want to ask is – will the Ministry consider waiving the concessionary levy altogether for elderly who are aged above 80 or 85, for example?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: the FDW concessionary levy for those with care-giving needs was just reduced from $120 a month, to $60 a month in May 2015, which was less than a year ago. And as I said earlier in my reply, this is significantly lower than the regular FDW levy of $265. This will benefit families with children aged below 16; elderly aged 65 and above; or disabled family members.

With the lowered concessionary levy of $60, families who need to hire FDWs to care for their frail elderly or persons with moderate disabilities will receive a net subsidy of $60, taking into account the monthly FDW Grant of $120.

In addition, if these frail elderly are aged 80 or above, the likelihood would be that they would belong to the pioneer generation, so they will also be able to receive cash payouts of $1,200 a year under the Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme.

So, in view of that, we currently do not have plans to further reduce the FDW concessionary levy or to tier it based on an age criterion. Having said that, we will continue to review the schemes to better support families with care-giving needs, including those with elderly dependants.

Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): One supplementary question, Madam. Would a Singaporean be eligible for the grant if the elderly parent is a non-citizen?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: If the elderly parent is aged 65 and above and is a permanent resident, they can still get the grant as long as the care-giver is a Singaporean.

Mr Zainal Sapari: The non-citizen I am referring to is a foreigner.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: The grant is given if the frail elderly is a permanent resident and aged above 65. Having said that, this is one of the many available schemes we have to support elderly with care-giving needs.

Mdm Speaker: The permanent resident has to be a foreigner, Mr Zainal Sapari.