MEDISAVE BALANCES OF CPF MEMBERS

MEDISAVE BALANCES OF CPF MEMBERS:

(Breakdown): 15.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health (a) if he will provide a breakdown of the Medisave balances of CPF members by age and income level; (b) how many CPF members have accumulated the Medisave Minimum Sum; and (c) how many CPF members have no Medisave savings at all.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Sir, a breakdown of the Medisave balances of CPF members by age and income level is tabulated on Ministry of Health's website. The Clerk of Parliament will now circulate the statistical table to Members, as it will be time-consuming for me to read out those data. [ Copies of table distributed to Members .]

Column: 1721

Table: Average Medisave Balances of: CPF Members (as at December 2006)

Age group:

(years): |

Monthly Salary ($): ---|---

**1,500 & below **

|

1,501-2,000: |

2,001-3,000: |

3,001-4,000: |

4,001-4,500: |

Above 4,500: 0 – 20

|

200

|

1,000

|

1,200

|

1,200

|

2,900

|

1,400

21 – 30

|

2,500

|

4,400

|

6,100

|

8,200

|

9,600

|

11,400

31 – 40

|

9,300

|

13,900

|

17,900

|

21,500

|

24,000

|

27,400

41 – 50

|

13,800

|

22,700

|

27,800

|

30,600

|

31,800

|

32,600

51 – 60

|

15,800

|

25,900

|

29,700

|

31,200

|

32,100

|

32,600

61 – 65

|

14,800

|

24,700

|

27,600

|

28,500

|

30,000

|

30,600

Above 65

|

13,000

|

24,200

|

25,900

|

28,500

|

29,900

|

29,900

Overall: |

10,200

|

15,200

|

19,100

|

22,800

|

26,200

|

27,500

As expected, the average Medisave balance would increase with income level. Likewise, it would also increase with the age of the members, but up to the age of 60.

Generally, members above the age of 40 and earning more than $1,500 per month would have an average balance exceeding $20,000. This will generally be sufficient to cover 16 episodes of hospitalisation in a Class B2 ward. Members above the age of 40 and earning above $3,000 per month would have an average Medisave balance of at least the Medisave Minimum Sum of $28,000.

Among the 2.7 million CPF members, ie, both active as well as inactive members, 606,000 or 22% of CPF members have Medisave balances exceeding the Medisave Minimum Sum. On the other hand, 15,800 or 0.6% have no Medisave savings at all.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, 15,800 CPF members do not have any Medisave balances at all. Is there a concern then on the part of the Ministry and what measures will be taken to assist them to build up their Medisave balances? Also, broadly, other than these 15,800, considering that we are having this debate

Column: 1722

today that we will be living beyond 85 years, are the general average Medisave balances of other CPF members sufficient? If not, what measures are being taken in order to increase the Medisave balances to prepare us for a much longer lifespan?

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Sir, it is always of concern to me when CPF members do not have enough savings, whether in CPF, Medisave or some other savings account. So, the 15,800 Singaporeans with zero Medisave balance is certainly of concern to me. I hope that the majority of them could depend on their family members' Medisave accounts, such as housewives whose husbands would have Medisave accounts or have children or parents who have Medisave accounts. We look at Medisave as a family account, and not so much an individual account.

If somebody is without family members and without anything in their Medisave, then that is where the third leg of the 3M system - Medifund - comes in to specifically assist those who, despite all their efforts, are still unable to pay for their medical bills.

On the second question whether I find Medisave balances sufficient, I have expressed a view before that with increasing healthcare cost, due to rising wages and also new technology, we should always try to build up as much Medisave as we can. That is the reason why we adjust the Medisave Minimum Sum every year for medical inflation, so that we preserve the purchasing power of the savings that we have in our Medisave. But I think the key approach, in the spirit of the discussion these few days, is to keep healthy and continue to work for as long as we can and save up as much money as we can, whether by legislation through the CPF route or our own savings, and do not forget to buy insurance.