326 elderly households join Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme

326 households took up the Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme since it was introduced in February 2013, Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament yesterday.

Responding to questions, he added there are about 367,000 households with at least one Singaporean flat owner aged 55 years old and above, living in three, four, and five-room HDB flats.

Of these households, 32 percent are three-room flats, 44 percent are four-room flats, and 24 percent are five-room flats.

However, it is uncertain how many in each flat type are lower-income elderly as flat owners are not required to update their income.

In March, Ministry of National Development (MND) revealed 220,000 HDB flats owned by Singaporeans aged 55 and above are fully paid up.

Separately, the government has also refined the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme recently. From 1 August, the age criterion for EASE has been lowered from 70 years old to 65 years old. The age criterion for those who require assistance in daily living was also lowered from 60 to 64 years old.

"In addition, we have extended the scope of works to cover a second toilet within the flat. So if seniors opt for it, HDB will carry out slip-resistant treatment to the floor tiles and install grab bars for their second toilet," Mr Khaw said.

In regards to whether the scheme will be extended to low-income families with special needs members who do not meet the age criteria, he said HDB will consider their requests and approve them if the needs are justified.

As EASE is subsidised up to 95 percent, residents will pay a small portion of the cost.

If residents opt for the full expanded scope of improvement works, the total cost of the EASE package would be $2,500 per flat, an increase from the previous $2,000, and Singapore Citizen households only need to pay between $125 and $312.50, depending on their flat type.

Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg

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