Affordable public retirement homes will be needed

While the Government’s many initiatives, including ComCare, for older persons and retirees are good, the numbers are stark (“87,000 beneficiaries received S$130m under ComCare in FY2015”; Dec 10).

There are 440,000 Singaporeans aged 65 and above today, and this will double to 900,000 by 2030. With average life expectancies going up, the Government correctly takes heed of caring for older Singaporeans.

Many older Singaporeans have assets — the homes they own — but need cash to fuel their twilight years.

In the past, the Housing and Development Board led the charge to provide modern, affordable homes for the masses, and over 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing today.

The future now requires affordable public retirement homes for the growing population of working-class and middle-class seniors to be built.

While there are plans to care for seniors needing to stay in nursing homes, there is a larger group of ageing Singaporeans who do not mind downgrading or living in retirement homes catering for their needs such as social activities.

Older folks who are still able-bodied and independent usually do not need much with this type of new housing, which can offer many advantages.

These include interaction with like-minded seniors as neighbours, to avoid loneliness or boredom, and the ability to monetise existing homes when they downgrade to these one- or two-bedroom retirement homes, thereby reducing their reliance on government initiatives such as ComCare.

They would be able to carry on living independently, and it would encourage meaningful, active lifestyles. The financial burden on society and the Government is also reduced if seniors have a good quality of life.

The better-located and bigger homes these seniors would sell off would be freed up for younger, growing families who could benefit from the potential stock of older homes nearer to schools or workplaces.

There is economic wastage when seniors continue to live in big but empty homes. The authorities could concentrate their resources on building facilities and developing programmes for them instead, allowing for economies of scale.

These new retirement homes could be integrated into existing and new HDB towns, and coordinated with the building of future medical facilities, clinics and nursing homes in the overall master plan.

A holistic approach for an ageing Singapore requires much thought and planning. When done well, it could provide a model for other countries. But we need the Government to initiate and drive such a national initiative.