Age eligibility for Community Care Apartments to be lowered from 65 to 55, fees to be reduced

SINGAPORE: The eligibility age for Community Care Apartments (CCAs) will be lowered from 65 to 55, the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of National Development (MND) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) said on Monday (Jul 13). The monthly basic service package (BSP) fees for such apartments will also be lowered by between 18 per cent and 75 per cent, they said. "These enhancements to CCAs are part of the government's broader efforts to expand housing and care options for seniors, alongside the roll-out of Age Well Neighbourhoods and the mainstreaming of Shared Stay-In Caregiving Services," MOH, MND and HDB said. Introduced in 2021, CCAs integrate senior-friendly housing with care services, offering a housing option for seniors who wish to age independently within the community. HDB has launched five CCA projects so far, in Bukit Batok, Queenstown, Bedok, Geylang and Sengkang. The sixth CCA project will be launched in Toa Payoh in October as part of a new Build-to-Order project next to Caldecott MRT station. "With effect from the October 2026 Build-To-Order sales exercise, HDB will lower the age eligibility from 65 to 55 years old, so that seniors who wish to right-size their homes can consider both two-room Flexi flats on short lease and CCAs when they turn 55 years old," MOH, MND and HDB said. "This will give them more housing options to choose from, and more time to plan ahead. "The lowered age eligibility will also apply to available CCAs offered at future Sale of Balance Flats exercises." LOWER SERVICE FEES The reduction of BSP fees will follow the streamlining of services offered under the package, which will take into account feedback from seniors. "The BSP will be more affordable as cost of operations and administration of the BSP will be reduced," MOH, MND and HDB said. CCA residents are required to subscribe to the package, which provides a range of care and support services. The streamlining of the BSP will see social activities for CCA residents consolidated and provided via Active Ageing Centre (AAC) touchpoints located at or near the apartments. "This would reduce the need for standalone communal spaces in future CCAs. Similar to other AAC touchpoints across Singapore, these activities will be subsidised, with most provided free-of-charge," MOH, MND and HDB said. "With this, the costs for social programming, as well as the maintenance costs for standalone communal spaces in future CCAs, will be removed from the BSP fees." Additionally, emergency alert devices, which were originally provided under the BSP, will be made optional, giving CCA residents the option to lower their fees further. "Residents who decide not to have the emergency alert device will continue to have access to 24-hour emergency support through the CCA staff," MOH, MND and HDB said. NEW BSP SUBSIDY To further reduce the cost of the BSP, the Health Ministry will also subsidise components similar to those currently subsidised under national Long-Term Care (LTC) schemes, including support provided by CCA staff and 24/7 emergency responses. "The subsidy will be subjected to prevailing means-testing for non-residential LTC services," MOH, MND and HDB said. "CCA applicants assessed to be unable to perform at least one activity of daily living will be eligible for this subsidy."

With the streamlined BSP scope and after subsidies, residents of CCAs launched prior to 2026 will see reductions of 18 per cent to 75 per cent in their monthly BSP fees. CCAs launched this year and beyond will have lower BSP fees with the most streamlined scope of services. "The BSP fees will be reviewed periodically to account for seniors' care needs, inflation and changes to operational costs," MOH, MND and HDB said. "Vanguard Healthcare, the CCA operator, will also reach out to CCA residents to provide more details when ready," they added. The revised BSP fees and subsidies will be implemented from the second quarter of 2027. More details on the BSP and the upcoming reductions to BSP fees are available at https://go.gov.sg/basicservicepackage .