The Great Eastern GREAT CareShield is a CareShield Life supplement that supports you if you have long-term care expenses or a loss of income due to a disability.
The cover provides additional coverage over and above your standard CareShield Life policy.
Here’s our review of the Great Eastern GREAT CareShield.
My Review of the Great Eastern GREAT CareShield
The Great Eastern GREAT CareShield is the only CareShield Life supplement with lifetime monthly payouts if you can’t perform at least 1 of the ADLs.
Also, you get premium waivers for as long as you can’t perform an ADL. Other benefits include a lump sum payment and dependent benefits.
Despite the advantages, the policy doesn’t have an additional death benefit as compared to NTUC Income’s Care Secure and Singlife’s CareShield Standard and Plus.
Rehabilitation benefits are also missing as compared to what’s offered by Singlife’s CareShield Plus plan.
Also, if comparing based on 2 ADLs, the premiums on the GREAT CareShield are much higher as compared to NTUC Income’s Care Secure.
The NTUC Income Care Secure would be a good alternative if you are looking for a cost-effective option.
Regardless of what it’s lacking, there’s much to like about the GREAT CareShield. And if you want to get covered for at least 1 ADL, this is the CareShield Life supplement for you.
If you’d like to learn more about the best CareShield Life supplements, you read our post here.
Otherwise, we recommend getting a second opinion as to whether the Great Eastern GREAT CareShield is the best plan for you to get.
This is because a CareShield Life supplement is one of the most important policies you should have, providing you with monthly income should you become disabled.
So making sure you have the absolute best for yourself is important.
If you need someone to get a second opinion from, we partner with unbiased MAS-licensed financial advisors who can help you with this.
Click here for a non-obligatory second opinion.
Here’s more about what the Great Eastern GREAT CareShield offers:
Criteria
Entry Age
To sign up for the GREAT CareShield, you’ll need to be at least 30 years old and not older than 64 years old.
Depending on the age group you decide to purchase this policy for yourself, the premium period varies as seen in the table below:
| Entry Age (Age Last Birthday) | Premium Period |
| 30 – 47 | Up to age 67 – 95 |
| 48 – 64 | 20 years or up to age 95 |
Premiums
As previously mentioned, the premium period is up to age 67 or 95 years.
Like any other policy, premiums are payable monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly.
You can pay your GREAT CareShield premiums using your MediSave funds. The earlier you sign up for this, the lower premiums you’ll incur.
Here is a sample premium table for Great Eastern’s GREAT CareShield before MediSave deductions:
| Gender | Age | Monthly Benefits | Yearly Premiums Till 67 | Yearly Premiums Till 95 |
| M | 30 | $ 300.00 | $ 198.56 | $ 134.10 |
| F | $ 243.30 | $ 178.88 | ||
| M | $ 1,500.00 | $ 992.81 | $ 670.50 | |
| F | $ 1,216.50 | $ 894.38 | ||
| M | $ 3,000.00 | $ 1,985.64 | $ 1,341.01 | |
| F | $ 2,433.00 | $ 1,788.75 | ||
| M | $ 5,000.00 | $ 3,309.38 | $ 2,335.00 | |
| F | $ 4,055.00 | $ 2,981.25 | ||
| M | 40 | $ 300.00 | $ 323.09 | $ 193.79 |
| F | $ 397.20 | $ 260.96 | ||
| M | $ 1,500.00 | $ 1,615.50 | $ 969.00 | |
| F | $ 1,986.01 | $ 1,304.81 | ||
| M | $ 3,000.00 | $ 3,231.01 | $ 1,938.00 | |
| F | $ 3,972.00 | $ 2,609.63 | ||
| M | $ 5,000.00 | $ 5,385.00 | $ 3,230.00 | |
| F | $ 6,620.00 | $ 4,349.38 |
Of course, the premiums will vary depending on your age and gender, so be sure to consult a financial advisor to obtain the premiums for you.
Benefits
Monthly Benefits
Great Eastern’s GREAT CareShield is the only CareShield Life supplement that offers you monthly benefits if you cannot perform 1 ADL – making it highly attractive if you’re a cautious individual.
When making claims for only 1 ADL, you will receive 50% of the monthly benefit. However, when claiming for at least 2 ADLs, you will get 100% of the monthly benefit.
Initial Lump-Sum Benefit
Additionally, your supplementary cover starts with a lump sum benefit of 3x your monthly benefit.
This means that the most you can receive is $15,000 if you selected $5,000 as your monthly benefit.
Caregiver Relief Benefit
Additional financial aid will be provided to your loved ones to aid in your healing.
If you are unable to do at least 2 ADLs for up to 12 months, you will get 60% of your monthly benefit.
Dependant Care Benefit
Inability to perform at least 2 ADLs will result in payment of 30% of the monthly benefit for a maximum of 48 months if your child is 22 years old and below (Age Last Birthday).
Premium Waiver
When unable to perform at least one ADL, premiums are waived for as long as you are facing the disability.
An Example To Illustrate the GREAT CareShield
Assuming John, aged 30, signs up for the GREAT CareShield with a single premium payment term of up to 95 years with the following coverage:
- Monthly benefit of S$1,500.
- Annual Premium is S$573 after the 20% promotional discount, which he can pay with cash or MediSave.
Assume John, at 40 years old, has a minor stroke that prevents him from performing at least 1 ADL. These are the benefits he will get;
- S$4,500 as the initial lump sum benefit.
- S$750 is payable every month (50% of monthly benefit as the claim is only for 1 ADL).
- Monthly premiums are waived.
Assuming it took a year for John to recover.
At 41 years, the Monthly Benefit ceases, and now he continues his premium payments.
Therefore within the one year, John is sick, he receives a total of S$13,500 as benefits.
| Benefits | Payouts |
| Lumpsum | $4,500 |
| Monthly Benefits (750*12 months) | $9,000 |
| Total Benefits | S$13,500 |
This excludes the payouts from the basic CareShield Life plan.
At 45 years, John is involved in another accident and subsequently permanently loses his ability to perform 2 ADLs. He then passes on at the age of 85.
In this case, he receives the following benefits.
| Benefits | Payouts |
| Lumpsum Benefit* | $4,500 |
| Monthly Benefit | $1,500 * 30 months = $45,000 |
| Caregiver Benefit | $900 for 12 months = $10,800 |
| Dependant Care Benefit** | $450 per month for 48 months = $21,600 |
| Total Benefit | $81,900 |
*John will receive the lumpsum benefit again unrelated to his previous claim.
**Assuming John has a dependant aged 22 and below.
Comparison of Great Eastern’s GREAT CareShieldWith Other CareShield Life Supplements Plans
| CareShield Life Supplement | Premium Payable (Example) | Sample Monthly Payout at 30 Years | Eligibility of Claims | Death Benefit | Dependent care | Caregiver Relief | Rehabilitation benefit | Premium Terms |
| NTUC Income Care Secure | S$218 (up to 67 years) | $1,200 (including CareShield Life payout) | At least 2 out of the 6 ADLs | 300% of the last paid disability benefit | Extra 25% of the monthly benefit for 36 months. | Not Available | Not Available | Premium term options of 67 – 84 years |
| Great Eastern GREAT CareShield | S$291 Up to 65 years | S$600 -excludes CareShield Life payout | Any of the 1 out of 6 ADLs | Not Available | 30% monthly benefits if unable to perform at least 2 ADLs | Extra 60% of the monthly benefit for 12 months | Not Available | The premium term for 30 to 47 years is up to 67 or 95 (ANB) or 20 years.
The premium term for 48-64 is up to 95 (ALB) or 20 years |
| Singlife CareShield Plus | S$457 – Up to age 67 | S$600 (excludes CareShield Life payout) | At least 2 out of 6 ADLs | 300% of the last paid disability benefit | Extra 20% of the monthly benefit for 36 months. | Extra 60% of the monthly benefit for 12 months | Not Available | Premium term options up to ANB1 68 and 99 |
| Singlife CareShield Standard | S$381 – Up to age 67 | S$600 (excludes CareShield Life payout) | At least 3 out of 6 ADLs | 300% of the last paid disability benefit | Extra 20% of the monthly benefit for 36 months. | Extra 60% of the monthly benefit for 12 months | 50% of your last monthly benefit (2 ADLs) | Premium term options up to ANB1 68 and 99 |
- Sample for a 30-year-old non-smoking male.
- All payouts are subject to the Deferment Period.
- Payouts are payable during the time the insured suffered disabilities or lifetime.
- The maximum payout is equal to S$5,000 for all policies
