If you are eligible, you will be notified by April 2019 via hardcopy letter, and you will receive your Merdeka Generation Card from June 2019 onwards.
The Merdeka Generation Package benefits will take effect progressively from July 2019. Your notification letter and Merdeka Generation welcome folder will contain more details.
| When? | MGP Benefit | What do I need to do? |
| From July 2019 | One-time $100 PAssion Silver Card top-up | From July 2019 onwards, you will be able to redeem the $100 Top-Up to your PAssion Silver Card at selected Community Centers, Ticketing Offices at MRT stations and bus interchanges. More information will be shared at a later date. |
| From July 2019 | $200 MediSave top-ups | The MediSave top-ups will be automatically credited to the MediSave Accounts of MGs every July, from 2019 to 2023. |
| From July 2019 | Additional 5% Premium Subsidies for MediShield Life | The additional premium subsidies will be automatically applied to policy renewals from 1 Nov 2019 onwards. If your MediShield Life policy is renewed between 1 Jul 2019 and 31 Oct 2019, please note that you will pay the full premium first. The additional subsidy will be refunded to your MediSave account automatically by 31 Dec 2019. This is because we are not yet able to put in place the systems to automatically net off the subsidies. |
| From 1 Nov 2019 | Special Merdeka Generation subsidies at Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) GP and dental clinics | Please bring your Merdeka Generation card and your NRIC when you visit CHAS GP and dental clinics, to receive your MG subsidies. |
| From 1 Nov 2019 | Additional subsidies for subsidised services and medications at polyclinics and Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs) | Automatically given at SOCs and polyclinics. Do not worry if you forget to bring your Merdeka Generation card. Your MG status will be reflected on the computer systems. Remember to see a doctor at the polyclinic or a GP under CHAS to get a referral for subsidised SOC care. |
| From 2021 | Additional $1,500 CareShield Life Participation Incentive | Will be used to offset your annual premiums over 10 years if you choose to join CareShield Life between 2021 and 2023. |
The Merdeka Generation Package is intended to support the aspirations of all MG seniors in their silver years by encouraging them to stay active and healthy, while providing assurance for their healthcare costs.
Hence, MGP benefits are not means-tested – they apply to all Merdeka Generation seniors, regardless of their income or the type of house they stay in.
MG seniors who are less well-off will still benefit more from existing underlying subsidies given, for example at subsidised SOCs and polyclinics, and for MediShield Life and CareShield Life premiums.
The CHAS card enables one to get subsidies at participating CHAS GP and dental clinics. Benefits are tiered according to means for Singapore Citizens, and the cards are valid for two years.
On the other hand, every Merdeka Generation senior, regardless of income or housing type, will receive a Merdeka Generation card. The MG card is valid for life. The MG card entitles MGs to special subsidies for medical and dental care at CHAS clinics that are higher than benefits for CHAS cardholders.
A Merdeka Generation senior should bring their Merdeka Generation card (together with their NRIC) when visiting a CHAS clinic to enjoy the special Merdeka Generation CHAS benefits – they do not need to bring the CHAS card.
As a Merdeka Generation senior, you will already enjoy special Merdeka Generation CHAS benefits when visiting CHAS GP and dental clinics, with your MG card.
However, there are two reasons why you might still wish to apply for a CHAS card:
First, if you apply for CHAS, your household members can also receive CHAS cards.
Second, when you apply for CHAS, your eligibility for higher healthcare subsidies will be assessed at the same time. Lower- to middle-income MG seniors – in other words, those who are eligible for Blue or Orange CHAS cards – will enjoy higher subsidies for subsidised services at the public Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs), and subsidised outpatient medications. The additional 25% off that MG seniors receive will then be applied on top of these higher subsidies.
No. The additional Merdeka Generation subsidies are applicable only for subsidised services and medications at public SOCs. Patients who wish to seek subsidised care at the public SOCs should first consult a primary care doctor at the polyclinic or a general practitioner on CHAS. If needed, the doctors can refer the patients to public SOCs as subsidised patients.
Merdeka Generation seniors who are already patients at the public hospitals’ private SOCs can approach the SOC staff to apply to switch to the subsidised SOC if they wish to enjoy additional Merdeka Generation Subsidies. Upon switching to the subsidised SOC, they will not be able to choose their doctor.
Additional Merdeka Generation subsidy at the SOCs and polyclinics apply only to subsidised services and medications. Subsidised services include consultation, tests (e.g. blood tests, imaging) and allied health services (e.g. physiotherapy) that patients need. Subsidised medications include those on the Standard Drug List (SDL) and Medication Assistance Fund (MAF).
If you are unsure whether a particular service or drug is subsidised, you can always approach the staff at our public healthcare institutions to find out more.
Merdeka Generation seniors are eligible for subsidised SOC referrals from CHAS GP and dental clinics to the subsidised SOCs in the public hospitals.
Such referrals should be accompanied by a completed CHAS Referral Form for referrals to Subsidised SOCs at Public Healthcare Institutions, and must be unnamed, i.e. no choice of SOC doctor allowed.
The IT system changes to automatically provide the additional premium subsidies will only be ready on 1 Nov 2019. However, to allow more Merdeka Generation seniors to enjoy the benefits earlier, we will be backdating the subsidies to apply four months earlier from 1 July 2019.
The Merdeka Generation premium subsidy for the first year will be refunded to the premium payer automatically by 31 Dec 2019.
When we introduced the PGP in 2014, there was no CareShield Life. Since then, the Government has announced the new CareShield Life scheme, which will provide higher monthly payouts starting at $600 per month, for as long as the recipient is severely disabled.
Therefore, we are providing Merdeka Generation seniors an additional $1,500 participation incentive to encourage them to join CareShield Life when it becomes available for them in 2021. Together with the $2,500 participation incentive announced earlier, they will receive a total of $4,000 in participation incentives if they choose to join CareShield Life when it becomes available for them in 2021. This is on top of any means-tested premium subsidies that they may receive.
If you are a Singapore Citizen, 60 years old and above and have not received either the PAssion Silver Concession Card/PAssion Silver Card (Non-Concession) before, you may contact TransitLink Hotline or approach any TransitLink Ticket Office to check on the status.
Where applicable, you may request for a replacement of your PAssion Silver Concession Card or request to convert your PAssion Silver Card (Non-Concession) to a PAssion Silver Concession Card at TransitLink Ticketing offices. For lost or damaged card, please contact the following hotline for assistance: 1800-2255-663.
If you were born in 1959 or earlier, and became a Singapore Citizen after 31 December 1996, you can appeal for the MGP.
Please send your appeal to contactus@merdeka.gov.sg, or call 1800-2222-888 for more information.
The Appeals Panel will not consider appeals from those who miss out on the age criterion (i.e. born after 31 December 1959).
Have more questions about the MGP? You can reach us at the following hotlines:
| Enquiries relating to | Hotline |
| 1800-2222-888 (Mondays to Fridays, 8am to 5.30pm) |
| For loss of Merdeka Generation Card and other healthcare-related enquiries: | 1800-650-6060 (Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am to 8.30pm; Saturdays, 8.30am to 4pm) |
