Statistics on Households with at Least One Member over Age 65 Employing Foreign Domestic Workers from 2015 to 2018

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Manpower for each year from 2015 to 2018 and by disaggregated housing type (a) what is the number and proportion of households with at least one member over the age of 65 employing foreign domestic workers; and (b) how many of such households have received the Foreign Domestic Worker Grant.

Mrs Josephine Teo: From 2015 to 2018, the number and proportion of resident households with at least one member aged 65 and above, employing foreign domestic workers (FDW) are shown in Table 1.

Households with members aged 65 and above who are Singapore Citizens (SCs) pay the concessionary levy rate of $60 per month 1 for the FDW they hire. In addition to this, the FDW Grant 2 provides support for eligible families to hire an FDW to care for loved ones who require permanent assistance with at least three activities of daily living. As at December 2018, about 9,500 households caring for seniors, aged 65 and above, were receiving the FDW Grant.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 29:

1 As opposed to the normal rate of $265 per month (to be raised to $300 per month from 1 April 2019). FDW employers can qualify for FDW levy concession under the aged person scheme if they or their spouse/parent/grandparent living with them are SCs aged 65 and above. The qualifying age will be raised to 67 from 1 April 2019. Households with persons aged 65 and 66 which are paying the levy concession under the aged person scheme before 1 April 2019 will continue to pay the concessionary rate.

2 The FDW Grant is administered by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).