Older Singaporeans no longer prioritised

The older Singaporeans have enough options for housing needs and there is no need to provide them priority applications for new flat.

Parliamentary Secretary Maliki Osman of the National Development revealed yesterday that only 4% of HDB flat applicants were aged above 55 in the past years.
 
He was replying to Dr. Lim Wee Kiak of Sembawang GRC, who questioned about new standards to handle the housing demands required by an ageing population.

The chances of obtaining a new flat are currently based on whether the applicant is a first-timer and not based on their age, Dr. Maliki said. He also explained that 90% of new flats are intended for those families who are setting up households for the first time.

But he indicated various schemes that are already given as an option to provide the housing needs of the elderly.

One option includes studio apartments, with a take-up rate of almost 100%. The HDB will be introducing another 1,000 studio apartments over the next two years. The flats will be made for those people above 55, with a shorter rental of 30 years.

Older Singaporeans can also choose to monetise flats value to backup their retirement by means of the Lease Buyback strategy introduced in March.

With the strategy, the HDB will purchase the tail-end lease of a flat at market rate, leaving a 30-year lease for the household. It pays market appraisal for the lease, with the money going to the annuity scheme of the new CPF Life in the flat owner’s name. A subsidy of $10,000 is also given out; half of it is paid in cash, while the CPF Life gets the other half.

So far, over 300 applicants have chosen the lease buyback system.

Other options open for the elderly include renting out their room or apartment, downgrading to a small-sized flat; or selling the flat and lived with their children.