AGEING and housing were the central themes of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 20), in which he announced Central Provident Fund (CPF) bonuses for “young seniors” and a new way of classifying public flats.

To keep housing affordable with fair access, Build-to-Order (BTO) projects will be classified not by estate but “location attributes”, with a new category that has larger subsidies but tighter resale conditions.

Housing and retirement adequacy were among the top concerns in the fourth generation (4G) leaders’ Forward Singapore feedback exercise, which will wrap up soon, noted PM Lee.

The findings, to be published later this year, “will be a compass to help Singapore navigate through the stormy seas”, he said.

He reiterated the mounting pressures that the country faces: rising geopolitical tensions, an increasingly fragmented global economic order, and climate change.

Yet he reassured Singaporeans that the Republic is keeping up economically, with positive growth expected this year: “Hopefully, we will avoid a recession.” Inflation is also coming down, though it “will probably stay higher than what we were used to”.

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Beyond immediate economic worries, PM Lee addressed older Singaporeans’ concerns on retirement and ageing, as well as younger Singaporeans’ housing aspirations.

He noted that “young seniors” in their 50s and 60s may have to care for both ageing parents and young adult children, while worrying about their own health and retirement savings.

To help them meet retirement needs, a new S$7 billion Majulah Package will give CPF bonuses to Singaporeans born in 1973 and earlier who have lower incomes and less wealth. This includes “young seniors” as well as the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations, with about 1.4 million seniors expected to benefit.

This comprises an annual Earn and Save bonus of up to S$1,000 for those who are working; a one-time Retirement Savings Bonus of up to S$1,500 for those who have not reached the basic retirement sum; and a one-time Medisave bonus of up to S$1,000.

Support will be tiered according to one’s income and CPF savings, with details to come next year.

Ensuring retirement adequacy is part of wider efforts to prepare Singapore for becoming a “super-aged” society, said PM Lee. A new national programme, Age Well SG, will complement the existing Healthier SG initiative, with more details in the coming months.

It will encourage seniors to stay active, with more Active Ageing Centres. Seniors must also do their part to look after themselves, such as by enrolling in Healthier SG, said PM Lee. Noting that he and his wife Ho Ching have signed up, he encouraged Singaporeans to do the same.

Age Well SG involves making public flats and neighbourhoods more accessible to seniors, too. The Enhancements for Active Seniors (Ease) programme will be updated with a wider range of senior-friendly fittings for homes, while walkways will be revamped and roads made more pedestrian-friendly. More assisted-living facilities will be built for seniors with additional needs, such as those with dementia.

Turning to younger Singaporeans’ housing aspirations, PM Lee outlined plans to keep housing affordable and accessible in the long term, with a new approach to classifying projects.

The current framework of differentiating Housing and Development Board (HDB) projects by mature and non-mature estates has worked well, but is losing relevance, he said.

Firstly, as there are fewer and fewer large tracts of undeveloped land for new towns or estates, BTO flats will soon have to be built within or close to existing estates – and will naturally cost more.

Meanwhile, non-mature estates have become more developed and well-connected, leading to some “choicer” projects in these estates becoming more popular than projects in mature estates.

“It shows that buyers are discerning – you know when you see a good deal, and what matters to you are the specific attributes of the project, rather than whether we call it mature or non-mature,” said PM Lee.

A new framework is thus needed, and must meet three objectives: affordability; maintaining a good social mix in every town and region; and fairness.

From the second half of 2024, HDB will apply a new classification system for BTO projects: Standard, Plus or Prime. This will not affect existing projects.

Most new BTO projects will still be Standard ones, to which current rules apply. Prime projects are those in the choicest and most central locations, akin to the existing Prime Location Public Housing Model.

Falling in between is the new Plus model for projects in choicer locations islandwide, such as near key amentites and public transport nodes. These will have more subsidies but tighter restrictions than Standard flats.

Singapore will build a “good mix of projects within and across regions, to cater to different needs and budgets”, said PM Lee.

Singles will get more choices under the new framework, as they will be allowed to buy two-room flexi BTO flats in all locations. They are currently eligible for new flats in non-mature estates only.

PM Lee also gave reassurance on issues such as the cost of living and jobs.

With the goods and services tax (GST) rate rising to 9 per cent next year, some have asked if the GST Assurance Package can be further enhanced. PM Lee said he has asked this of Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who “said he will study it carefully”.

On jobs, he gave a reminder of upcoming financial support for displaced workers who attend training, to encourage them to upskill for better jobs.

Beyond policies, PM Lee addressed worries about Singapore’s politics, in the wake of recent high-profile scandals.

While he did not name the incidents, recent months have seen the resignation of the Speaker of Parliament and an MP over an inappropriate relationship, as well as an ongoing graft probe involving a minister.

“Integrity and incorruptibility are fundamental to Singapore,” he said.

“No matter the price, no matter the embarrassment or political cost, I will do my utmost to keep the system clean. Every generation of PAP leaders must stand by this.”

Nor will these incidents affect his timeline for leadership renewal, he added. With the Covid-19 pandemic out of the way, succession plans are “back on track” and his task is increasingly to support the 4G leaders and their agenda.

He appealed to Singaporeans to give DPM Wong and his team their “fullest support”, saying: “Our nation’s future depends on them, working as one with you to take Singapore forward.”