8 highlights of NDR 2023: New Plus flats, $7b Majulah Package with retirement help for ‘young seniors’

An overhaul of the classification system for mature and non-mature estates and a new retirement support package for workers born in 1973 or earlier are among the key announcements in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech on Sunday.

Here are eight highlights from his speech:

1. New Standard, Plus and Prime framework to classify BTO projects

The framework will split Build-to-Order housing projects into Standard, Plus and Prime, depending on whether they are in “choicer locations”.

The current system of labelling the estates as mature and non-mature will no longer work as newer towns have become much more developed, with excellent connectivity and a full suite of amenities, said PM Lee.

The classification framework will be implemented for BTO projects from the second half of 2024.

Standard projects will continue to have a five-year minimum occupation period (MOP), regular subsidies and no income ceiling for resale buyers. Most Housing Board projects in the future will still be Standard projects.

Plus projects will be those that are in choicer locations in each region and will have more subsidies than Standard projects to moderate the prices of Plus flats.

They will have a longer MOP of 10 years and tighter restrictions when the flats are resold. This includes a subsidy recovery applied on the resale prices as well as an income ceiling on resale buyers.

Prime projects will have the most subsidies and also the tightest resale restrictions such as a higher subsidy recovery rate than Plus projects. They will also have a 10-year MOP.

2. New $7 billion Majulah Package to help ‘young seniors’ meet retirement needs

This package is meant to help young seniors – aged 50 and above this year, or born in 1973 or earlier – meet their retirement needs. About 1.4 million older people will benefit.

The support will be tiered, depending on the individual’s income and Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings.

There will be an Earn and Save Bonus to help them build up CPF savings as they work. Lower- and middle-income workers will get a CPF bonus of up to $1,000 a year.

There is also a one-time Retirement Savings Bonus of up to $1,500 for those whose CPF balances have not reached the CPF Basic Retirement Sum. Those who are not working will also receive this bonus.

A one-time MediSave Bonus of up to $1,000 will help allay worries about healthcare costs.

The package will cost the Government about $7 billion, and the Finance Ministry will create a new fund to meet the full lifetime costs of the package.

Existing schemes, such as Silver Support, Workfare Income Supplement and the Matched Retirement Savings, will also be enhanced, with details to come in 2024.

3. Financial support for workers who are upskilling after losing jobs

There are plans to introduce more financial support for workers who lose their jobs, while they upgrade their skills, said PM Lee.

These plans will be part of the Forward Singapore nationwide engagement exercise that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong is leading with the fourth-generation (4G) team. The exercise, which was launched in June 2022, will culminate in a report later in 2023.

The financial support will be a temporary safety net for these workers to meet immediate needs. It will also free them to upskill and train as they prepare themselves for a good long-term job.

4. Govt studying whether more support needed to ease impact of GST increase

PM Lee said he was confident that the existing Assurance Package will be effective in buffering the impact of the next stage of the goods and services tax (GST) increase, from 8 per cent to 9 per cent starting Jan 1, 2024.

The Government will continue with the package as planned, and DPM Wong will also study if there can be further enhancements to it.

The Government has already given out various subsidies to reduce the burden of rising costs on Singaporeans as prices soar globally, leading to higher inflation, PM Lee noted.

However, Singaporeans must understand that the Government cannot give out subsidies infinitely. 

The long-term solution is to make ourselves more productive, transform businesses and grow the economy so that real incomes can rise, he said.

5. More senior-friendly homes and neighbourhoods

HDB homes and precincts will be made more senior-friendly so that people can live out their golden years in their own homes and neighbourhoods.

There will soon be an expanded suite of fittings that can be installed in homes under the Enhancement for Active Seniors 2.0 programme. This will include foldable shower seats and widened toilet entrances.

The current programme allows for ramps as well as grab bars and slip-resistant floors in the toilet.

In neighbourhoods, streets and linkways frequented by seniors will have more shelters and rest points.

There will also be more therapeutic gardens, fitness trails and exercise machines.

Road will become more pedestrian-friendly, such as having longer green man signals and 3D road markings and narrowed roads to slow cars down.

The Government will also be building more assisted living facilities for those who need more help.

These efforts will be rolled out across Singapore, starting with towns with more seniors such as Ang Mo Kio and Bukit Merah.

6. Expanding the network of active ageing centres

The network of active ageing centres in Singapore will be expanded to help seniors stay active and healthy.

The Government will invest in this and work with community partners to enhance the centres’ services and reach.

PM Lee encouraged seniors to join a nearby centre to live well and age well.

He noted that one of the biggest threats to the well-being of seniors is loneliness, and they risk becoming socially isolated.

These steps to expand the network of the centres, together with efforts to create more senior-friendly homes and neighbourhoods, will be part of a new national programme called Age Well SG. It will complement Healthier SG in improving the health of older Singaporeans.

7. No delay in timetable for succession plans

The recent controversial issues involving political figures will not delay his timetable for leadership renewal, said PM Lee.

Succession plans are back on track, with the Covid-19 pandemic in the past, he added.

Increasingly, his task is to support the 4G team and their agenda so that they can get off to the best start possible, he said.

PM Lee added that the themes of National Day Rally 2023 are all Forward Singapore themes. He has every confidence in DPM Wong and his team, and shares the same core convictions as them.

“That we are stewards of Singapore, entrusted with the immense responsibility to lead and care for our nation, that our time as stewards is transient, but we are building a Singapore for the ages, and that our best service to this nation is to hand over a better, stronger Singapore to those who follow us.”

8. Founding values of integrity and incorruptibility fundamental to Singapore

Integrity and incorruptibility are fundamental to Singapore, said PM Lee, adding that they are the foundation for the running of a clean and effective Government.

“No matter the price; no matter the embarrassment or political cost – I will do my utmost to keep the system clean,” he said.

Noting that in a few weeks’ time, Singapore will mark the 100th birth anniversary of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, PM Lee said it was timely to reflect upon the values and ideals championed by Mr Lee and the founding fathers of Singapore.

It is also timely for the Government to renew its commitment to these enduring values and ideals – justice and equality, religious freedom and racial harmony, a commitment to excellence, a fair system of meritocracy, and an uncompromising insistence on honest, clean government.

These ideals are not just abstract aspirations, but the compass that guides every decision made by each generation of People’s Action Party leaders, said PM Lee.