CareShield Life is Singapore's compulsory long-term care insurance, and from 2026 it pays a severely disabled member $689 a month, for life. The bigger news this year is the growth rate: payouts now rise 4% a year, double the old 2%, so a person who first claims in 2030 gets $806 a month instead of the $731 the old rate would have given. You pay premiums from MediSave, never cash, and you cannot lose cover for being unable to pay. This guide lays out the 2026 payout, the premium hikes the Government is cushioning with $570 million of support, the 3-of-6 disability test, the subsidies, and how a claim actually works.
CareShield Life is a national insurance scheme that pays you a fixed monthly sum if you become severely disabled and cannot look after yourself. Severe disability here is not a vague label. It means you cannot do at least 3 of 6 basic daily tasks without help, and an MOH-accredited assessor decides that, not your own doctor.
It replaced the older ElderShield scheme for younger cohorts. The two differences that matter: CareShield Life pays for life rather than for a capped number of years, and its payouts grow over time instead of staying frozen at the amount you signed up for. That growth is the whole point, because care costs in 2050 will dwarf care costs today.
It is run by the CPF Board and the Agency for Integrated Care, and premiums come out of your MediSave Account, so the scheme never touches your cash flow. If MediSave and subsidies still leave you short, Additional Premium Support covers the rest. By design, no one is dropped from CareShield Life for non-payment.
Here is the headline number for this year. A member who is first assessed as severely disabled in 2026 receives $689 a month, up from $676 the year before. Because the payout is tied to the year you start claiming, someone who turns disabled later starts on a higher base, and that base climbs faster from now on.
From 2026 the annual growth rate of payouts doubles from 2% to 4%. That single change is what pushes the projected 2030 starting payout to $806 a month, against the $731 the old 2% path would have reached. Over a long disability spanning decades, the gap compounds into tens of thousands of dollars of extra support.
Once you start receiving payouts, they continue for as long as you remain severely disabled, with no lifetime cap and no expiry. This is the structural advantage over ElderShield, where money stopped after 60 or 72 months even if you were still disabled.
| Year first assessed | Monthly payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $676 | Final year under the old 2% growth path |
| 2026 | $689 | First year of the new 4% annual growth |
| 2030 (projected) | $806 | Under 4% growth; would have been $731 at 2% |
Coverage hinges on your birth year. If you were born in 1980 or later, you were enrolled automatically once you turned 30, or from 1 October 2020 if you were already past 30 by then, whatever your health. There is no medical underwriting and no opting out.
If you were born in 1979 or earlier, joining is optional. Those born between 1970 and 1979 who held ElderShield 400 were moved into CareShield Life automatically from 1 December 2021, and older Singaporeans can still choose to join. From 1 January 2026, coverage also became mandatory for certain new permanent residents and foreigners gaining residency, bringing them into the same risk pool.
You do not get paid for being old, sick or hospitalised. You get paid when you fail the Activities of Daily Living test, the same yardstick used across CareShield Life, ElderShield and MediSave Care. You must be unable to perform at least 3 of the 6 tasks below without another person's help.
Failing two is not enough, however much daily assistance you need. An MOH-accredited assessor, not your GP, makes the formal call, and the same assessment can support claims across all three disability schemes at once.
Premiums are deducted from MediSave, never from your bank account, and a family member can pay from their own MediSave or top up your premium in cash if needed. When the scheme launched in 2020, an age-30 entrant paid roughly $206 a year (male) and $253 a year (female), with the gap reflecting women's longer expected disability years. Those figures rise every year, which is what funds the growing payouts.
You do not pay forever. If you join before age 59, premiums are payable until age 67; if you join at 59 or older, you pay for 10 years. After that you stay covered for life with nothing more to pay. Treat the deduction like a small, automatic line item in your CPF rather than a bill, the way you would MediShield Life.
Premiums will rise from 2026 to fund the bigger payouts, but the Government is blunting the increase. Without help, annual premiums would have jumped by about $126 on average in 2026. With $570 million of new support spread over five years, the average yearly increase from 2026 to 2030 is held to around $38, and capped at $75. Of that funding, $440 million is broad transitional support for everyone and over $130 million targets means-tested help.
On top of the broad transitional support, lower- and middle-income households get means-tested subsidies based on monthly per-capita household income and the annual value of their home. These can knock 30% off a Singapore citizen's premium at the lowest income band.
If you are a citizen earning $1,500 or less per person in your household, living in a property with an annual value of $21,000 or below, you qualify for the top 30% subsidy. PRs get half the citizen rate. The Government also widened eligibility for Additional Premium Support in 2026, so households that still cannot afford premiums after subsidies, and have limited family support, are not left exposed.
| Monthly per-capita household income | Citizen subsidy | PR subsidy |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500 or less | 30% | 15% |
| $1,501 to $2,600 | 25% | 12.5% |
| $2,601 to $3,600 | 20% | 10% |
| Above $3,600 | No means-tested subsidy | No means-tested subsidy |
If you were born in 1979 or earlier and never moved across, you are likely still on ElderShield. The schemes are cousins, not twins. ElderShield pays a flat sum for a limited stretch and never grows; CareShield Life pays more, grows yearly and never stops while you are disabled.
ElderShield 300 pays $300 a month for up to 60 months; ElderShield 400 pays $400 a month for up to 72 months. Set against $689 a month for life in 2026, the difference is stark for anyone facing years of care. This is why many eligible older Singaporeans choose to upgrade.
| Feature | ElderShield 300 | ElderShield 400 | CareShield Life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly payout | $300 | $400 | $689 (2026 start), growing 4%/yr |
| Payout duration | Up to 60 months | Up to 72 months | For life while disabled |
| Payout growth | None | None | 4% a year |
| Disability test | 3 of 6 ADLs | 3 of 6 ADLs | 3 of 6 ADLs |
| Premiums from | MediSave | MediSave | MediSave |
Be honest about the gap. A nursing home or a live-in helper plus medical supplies can easily run past $2,000 a month, and $689 covers only part of that. The basic scheme is a floor, not a full solution.
To raise the payout, you can buy a CareShield Life Supplement from Great Eastern, Income Insurance or Singlife. Supplements can lift your monthly payout well above the basic amount, and some pay out on a more lenient test, for example failing fewer than 3 ADLs, which the national scheme will not do. You can pay supplement premiums in cash or from MediSave, up to a $600 per-person annual MediSave limit.
Before topping up, look at your wider safety net. CareShield Life sits alongside MediShield Life and an Integrated Shield Plan for hospital bills, MediSave Care for an extra cash layer, and your own savings. Run the numbers with our CPF LIFE payout calculator to see what monthly income you already have lined up for old age before paying for more disability cover.
The 2026 enhancements went beyond payouts. From July 2026, long-term care service subsidies rise by up to 15 percentage points, to a maximum of 80%, lowering the bill for nursing homes, day care and home care for those who qualify.
The Home Caregiving Grant, a separate cash grant for families caring for a severely disabled person at home, rose to $600 a month from April 2026, up from $400. The income ceiling for these care subsidies also widened, with the per-capita household income threshold lifted from $3,600 to $4,800, so more middle-income families now qualify. These are claimed through the Agency for Integrated Care, not CPF.
There is no pre-claim paperwork while you are healthy, since you are already enrolled. You act only after disability sets in. The route runs through the Agency for Integrated Care.
Book a severe disability assessment with an MOH-accredited assessor listed on the AIC website. For CareShield Life, your first assessment fee is waived regardless of the result, which is why it is the natural anchor claim to file. If you are assessed at 3 or more of 6 ADLs, you submit the claim and the monthly payout begins.
File every layer you qualify for in one go. The same assessment supports CareShield Life, ElderShield and MediSave Care, so the bulk insurance payout and the extra MediSave cash can start together rather than in sequence.
Think of it as the disability-income leg of your CPF safety net, distinct from the hospital-bill leg (MediShield Life and an Integrated Shield Plan) and the retirement-income leg (CPF LIFE). It does one job: replace some income and offset care costs if you can no longer care for yourself.
For most people born in 1980 or later, the decision was made for them, and the only live questions are whether to add a supplement and whether they qualify for subsidies. For older Singaporeans on ElderShield, the upgrade is worth modelling against the much larger lifelong payout. Either way, knowing the 2026 numbers, $689 a month rising 4% a year, lets you size the gap and plan the rest of your long-term care funding around it. If you are mapping out later-life costs in full, our guide to elderly care options and costs in Singapore sets out what care actually runs to.
A member first assessed as severely disabled in 2026 receives $689 a month, up from $676 in 2025. The payout continues for life while you remain severely disabled and now grows 4% a year, so people who first claim in later years start on a higher base.
The annual growth rate doubled from 2% to 4% from 2026, on the CareShield Life Council's recommendation, to keep payouts ahead of rising long-term care costs. As a result the projected 2030 starting payout is $806 a month instead of the $731 the old 2% rate would have reached.
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents born in 1980 or later are auto-enrolled once they turn 30, or from October 2020 if they were already older, regardless of health. Those born 1970 to 1979 with ElderShield 400 were enrolled from December 2021, and older people can opt in voluntarily.
Premiums are deducted from your MediSave Account, never from cash, and a family member can pay from their own MediSave or top up in cash. You pay until age 67 if you joined before 59, or for 10 years if you joined at 59 or later, then stay covered for life. No one loses cover for inability to pay.
Without support, 2026 premiums would have risen about $126 on average. With $570 million of Government support over five years, the average yearly increase from 2026 to 2030 is held to roughly $38 and capped at $75. Means-tested subsidies cut up to 30% off a citizen's premium, and Additional Premium Support covers those who still cannot afford it.
ElderShield 300 pays $300 a month for up to 60 months and ElderShield 400 pays $400 for up to 72 months, with no growth. CareShield Life pays $689 a month in 2026, grows 4% a year and pays for life while you are severely disabled. Both use the same 3-of-6 ADL test.
The basic $689 a month rarely covers full care costs, which can exceed $2,000 a month. A supplement from Great Eastern, Income Insurance or Singlife can raise your payout and, for some plans, pay out on a more lenient test. Supplement premiums can use MediSave up to $600 per person a year.
Book a severe disability assessment with an MOH-accredited assessor through the AIC website; your first CareShield Life assessment is free. If you are assessed as unable to do 3 or more of the 6 ADLs, submit the claim through AIC and the monthly payout begins. The same assessment also supports ElderShield and MediSave Care claims.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.