Last week, a client asked me something that stuck with me.
“Fur, what’s the one insurance people regret not having later in life?”
Without hesitation, I said:
Long-term care.
Not hospital plans. Not critical illness.
Long-term care.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth most of us don’t talk about.
According to Singapore’s Ministry of Health, 1 in 2 Singaporeans who reach age 65 will develop severe disability at some point in their lifetime.
That means needing help with basic activities like walking, bathing, feeding or getting out of bed.
Half of us.
Let that sink in.
Yet ironically, it’s also the risk that most people don’t financially plan for at all.
Singapore introduced CareShield Life because the government recognised something important:
Longer lives don’t always mean healthier lives.
With our population ageing rapidly, 1 in 4 Singaporeans will be 65 or older by 2030.
And when severe disability happens, the costs can pile up quickly.
A 2024 study found that the average monthly cost of long-term care in Singapore is about S$2,952.
That’s almost $36,000 a year.
And that’s just the average.
For certain conditions like dementia, caregivers still spend about S$2,020 per month even after subsidies.
Now here’s the part many people underestimate.
Severe disability often lasts years.
Government projections show that:
- About 3 in 10 people may remain severely disabled for 10 years or more
- Some may require care for most of their remaining life
That’s potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in long-term care costs.
And most of it falls on:
- Your savings
- Your spouse
- Your children
In fact, Singapore already has over 210,000 caregivers, many of whom had to compromise their careers and finances to care for loved ones.
This is exactly why the government created CareShield Life – a basic national insurance payout if severe disability happens.
But “basic” is the key word here.
Here’s something I often explain to my clients.
CareShield Life is designed to provide a foundation, not complete coverage.
Right now, payouts are around S$689/month in 2026 and will increase gradually over time.
But compare that to the average long-term care cost of about $3,000/month.
You can probably see the gap.
That’s why CareShield Life supplements exist – to increase the monthly payout so it actually matches real-world care costs.
When I talk to clients about disability planning, the conversation usually shifts very quickly.
Not because people don’t care.
But because it’s uncomfortable to imagine.
Yet the reality is that severe disability is not a rare, edge-case scenario. With Singapore’s rapidly ageing population and longer life expectancy, it’s becoming increasingly common.
And when it happens, the financial impact isn’t just on the person affected.
It affects the entire family.
I’ve seen situations where:
- Children have to reduce work hours to become caregivers
- Families hire foreign domestic workers or part-time caregivers
- Retirement savings start getting drained much earlier than expected
That’s why I always explain CareShield Life supplements in a very simple way.
Think of them as income replacement for care needs.
If severe disability happens, the payout becomes a monthly stream of cash flow that helps pay for:
- Home caregiving
- Domestic helpers
- Nursing care
- Assisted living
- Or simply relieving the financial pressure on your family
And this is where the numbers start to matter.
If the average long-term care cost is close to $3,000/month, relying solely on the base CareShield Life payout means the majority of the costs may still come from:
- Your retirement savings
- Your spouse’s income
- Your children
A supplement increases that monthly payout so that the burden is shared between insurance and your savings, instead of everything falling on your family.
From a financial planning perspective, I see it as risk transfer.
We don’t insure small risks.
We insure the risks that can destroy decades of savings.
And long-term care costs are exactly that.
There’s another reason this matters right now.
One of the insurers, Singlife, is currently running a promotion offering up to 35% perpetual discounts on their CareShield Life supplements until the end of March 2026.
I don’t usually talk about insurer promotions in my newsletter.
But this one caught my attention.
Over the past few months, I’ve been comparing CareShield supplements across multiple insurers for my clients.
And after running the numbers across different ages and coverage levels, this promotion has consistently come out as one of the most competitively priced options in the market right now.
What makes it interesting is that the discount is perpetual.
That means the lower premium isn’t just for the first few years – it continues for the lifetime of the policy.
Over decades, that difference can add up significantly.
Which is why many of my clients who were already planning to upgrade their CareShield coverage decided to do it during this window.
Now, to be clear.
Not everyone needs the same level of coverage.
Some people:
- Already have other long-term care coverage
- Prefer a smaller supplement
- Or want to structure their retirement assets differently
That’s why whenever I review this with clients, we look at it alongside:
- Their retirement income strategy
- Their existing insurance coverage
- Their investment portfolio
The goal isn’t to just buy insurance.
The goal is to protect the financial plan you’ve spent years building.
And if you can use $600 from your Medisave yearly to pay for your Careshield Life supplement, it’s really a no brainer.
One of the biggest financial planning mistakes I see is assuming:
“Severe disability probably won’t happen to me.”
But statistically, the odds are much higher than most people realise.
And when it happens, the cost is not just financial.
It’s emotional, physical, and often affects the entire family.
That’s why I believe planning for long-term care is less about insurance…
…and more about protecting your independence and your loved ones.
With the current promotion running until the end of March, I’ve been getting quite a few questions about CareShield supplements recently.
My calendar is already fairly packed over the next couple of weeks, but I can open up a few additional time slots for anyone who wants to:
- Understand how CareShield Life works
- Compare supplement options across insurers
- Or see whether upgrading their coverage makes sense
No pressure to buy anything.
Sometimes just understanding the numbers clearly is already valuable.
Because when it comes to financial planning, the best decisions are usually the ones made before the risk shows up.
If you’d like to have a chat, fill up this form and we’ll arrange something.