Review Feasibility of Monthly Payouts for Silver Support Scheme and Reduce Differentiation by HDB Flat Size

Mr Shawn Loh asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Silver Support Scheme can be reviewed (i) to move from quarterly payouts to monthly payouts, so that beneficiaries can more easily plan their finances with more regular inflows of Government support and (ii) to reduce the differentiation between HDB flat sizes, which may lead to unnecessary comparisons between neighbours.

Dr Tan See Leng: Silver Support is paid ahead of each quarter to give eligible seniors greater flexibility to manage their larger expenses over each three-month period. Switching to monthly payments means that recipients will only be able to receive payments for the second and third months later.

Differentiation of Silver Support payments by the Housing and Development Board flat type allows seniors living in smaller flats, who are more likely to have fewer financial resources, to be given higher payments. This ensures that the Silver Support Scheme benefits seniors who need it most.