Balance in MediSave Amounts Following Death of CPF Account Holders

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Health in each of the past five years, what is the number of CPF account holders who at the point of death have monies left in their CPF MediSave accounts to the sum of (i) less than $1,000 (ii) between $1,000 and $10,000 (iii) between $10,000 and $20,000 (iv) between $20,000 and $30,000 (v) between $30,000 and $40,000 (vi) between $40,000 and $50,000 and (vii) between $50,000 and the MediSave account limit.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, MediSave helps Singaporeans set aside part of their income over their working years, to save up for healthcare expenses in their old age. It is, therefore, more instructive to look at MediSave balances at the point of death for Singaporeans who lived till an advanced age.

For Singaporeans who passed away aged 85 or older, between 2017 and 2021, about two in 10 had $1,000 or less; five in 10 had between $1,000 and $10,000; about one in 10 had between $10,000 and $20,000, $20,000 and $30,000, and more than $30,000 left in their MediSave accounts, at the point of death respectively.

Mr Speaker: Mr Patrick Tay.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Pioneer): I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I note that the data given is only for those above 85 years old. Because there is quite a number who are below 85 at the point of death, the figures are not given. But, otherwise, I think the main crux is that we do hear, anecdotally, many MediSave account holders who pass on with larger or quite significant amounts in their MediSave accounts. And therefore, an appeal for the Ministry of Health (MOH) to consider whether we can allow greater MediSave deductions, especially those with chronic illnesses, rare diseases, as well as for exigencies, where they need to tap on the MediSave to pay, to prolong their life and make sure that they are adequately treated.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: I thank the Member for raising this issue. I note the concern, but there was a Parliamentary Question that had been raised previously. And insofar as those who are 65 years old and above, the amount left in their MediSave is also not that high. So, although we do see some with large amounts left, in general, we believe a larger number do not have excessively high amounts, of more than $10,000. That is one point.

The second thing is that, we allow MediSave to be withdrawn in a lump sum for those who are terminally ill, up to a minimum balance of $5,000, under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Boards Reduced Life Expectancy Terminally Ill scheme. So, this is something that they could avail themselves to, if there are situations where there are members who have terminal illnesses.

And also, over the years, MOH has expanded MediSave, to allow for more flexibility for the elderly to use for their healthcare needs. For example, we have lowered the age for Flexi-MediSave from 65 to 60 in 2018, and we also increase the withdrawal limit from $200 to $300 per year in 2021 so that more can use Flexi-MediSave for outpatient treatments.

This is all the top of the MediSave 500/700 that was also enhanced for chronic treatments, specifically.

But I note the concerns and we will continue to review the use of MediSave to strike the balance between affordability and ensuring Singaporeans have sufficient savings for healthcare needs in old age.