A well-deserved hongbao for seniors

IN an economic climate where employers are constantly being cajoled to retain their retirement-age workers, older Singaporeans are having their day in the sun.

The package of healthcare benefits for seniors turning 65 or older this year amounts to more than a token of appreciation for the "pioneer generation" who stuck with a then backwater, Third-World, newly-independent city-state, soldiered on, and contributed to its development and growth.

The details will be fleshed out in the 2014 Budget next Friday but what's announced so far - additional annual Medisave top-ups; subsidised MediShield Life insurance premiums; extra subsidies at polyclinics, specialist outpatient and GP clinics - should tote up to a significant commitment on the part of the government, as the perks f…