Old is gold in Singapore. When you reach the age of 55, you are considered a senior citizen. If you feel old, the consolation is that there are perks. Let’s see what you’ll get!
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1) Withdraw Your Cash From Your CPF
Probably the best news is that you can withdraw your money from your CPF account, after putting aside the basic retirement sum. The sum is set at $93K if you turn 55 next year, or $96K in 2022.
2) Silver Housing Bonus (SHB)
If you need money, downgrade your HDB unit to a 3-room flat or smaller. With the leftover cash, put some into your CPF retirement account. For every $2 you put in, you get $1 as Silver Housing Bonus up to a maximum of $30K. Read more about the Silver Housing Bonus here.
3) Sign Up For Courses At Various Associations Targeted At Seniors
These days, many types of transactions are cashless, from paying bills to ordering food. If you are not IT savy, it is hard to shop in Singapore.
Upgrade your IT skill through IT workshops organised by RSVP Singapore. It costs as little as $10.
Also, the National Silver Academy is offering 50% off for its short courses offered by PSEIs (capped at $500 per course) if you are aged 50 and above.
Lastly, the People’s Association has a list of courses for seniors. You can check them out here.
4) Other Perks
You may sit in the reserved seats at the MRT train without feeling guilty.
You may apply for a Guardian Golden Seniors Membership card. This entitles you to 5% discount. You get a 10% discount during your birthday month.
You may apply for a Jubilee card at Watsons to enjoy 10% off all pharmacy and prescription products, 5% off other products, and 10% discount on all products on your birthday month.
Most cinemas (Shaw, Cathay and Golden Village) in Singapore offer a $5 ticket price for seniors, for movies from Monday to Friday before 6pm.
The 3 biggest telco companies — M1, Starhub and Singtel — offer senior plans. I am biased. I think the benefits are negligible. If you already have a phone, consider switching to Giga or Circle Line. You get far more mobile data for a small subscription fee.
Do you like to eat pizza? Pizza Hut offers 50% off for selected items from 1:30pm to 5pm on weekdays.
18 Chefs restaurants offer $2 off the main courses.
And finally, for the sake of your health, it is a must to keep fit. Use ActiveSG gyms for $1.50 per entry. Entry to public swimming posts cost $0.50 to $1. It is certainly cheap to keep fit.
