Debated in Parliament on 5 Feb 2018.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Government has studied different retirement village models; (b) whether any of these are suitable for the ageing cohorts in the next decade; and (c) how land development and zoning regulations can be adjusted to promote the building of retirement villages.
The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Development have studied retirement village models, including those in Western countries like Australia and the United States, and in Asia like Hong Kong and Japan.
However, we cannot simply transplant these overseas models and will have to adapt them to Singapore’s context and needs. In particular, during our earlier public consultations for the Action Plan for Successful Ageing, many of our seniors had expressed a strong preference to age in place, in the communities where they live.
Hence, the Government has been designing public housing developments that can provide care and support for our seniors within the community. Over the years, we have been placing more eldercare facilities, such as Senior Activity and Senior Care Centres, in our Housing and Development Board estates. We have taken this one step further with Kampung Admiralty, where senior residents can access a continuum of social and health services at the Active Ageing Hub to support them as their needs evolve. These include active ageing programmes, assisted living services, such as housekeeping and grocery delivery, for seniors requiring assistance with their daily activities, and rehabilitation, home medical care and home nursing for seniors who require more care. Residents at Kampung Admiralty also have amenities, such as a supermarket, hawker centre and medical centre, all within walking distance.
To expand the range of housing options available to seniors, the Government is studying measures to facilitate private housing projects which support the needs of seniors. For example, we are reviewing our Development Control guidelines to provide more clarity on retirement housing developments.
We will continue to explore more new models in both public and private housing in consultation with our community partners and the real estate industry. We will share more information on these plans when ready.
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