MediSave Care lets a severely disabled Singaporean or PR aged 30 and above withdraw up to $200 a month, or $2,400 a year, in cash from their MediSave Account to help pay for long-term care. The cash is paid into your bank account, not to a hospital, so you decide how to spend it. If your own MediSave is short, your spouse's MediSave can top up the same $200 monthly cap. It is one of three CPF healthcare layers for disability, the other two being CareShield Life and ElderShield, and it is the only one that pays out from money you already own rather than from an insurance pool.
MediSave Care is a withdrawal scheme, not insurance. It lets you draw a monthly cash sum from your own MediSave Account once you are assessed as severely disabled. There is no premium and no claim against a shared fund. You are simply unlocking part of your own CPF healthcare savings for living expenses tied to your care.
The most you can take is $200 a month, capped at $2,400 a year. The money lands in your bank account as cash, so it can go toward a helper's wages, transport to appointments, mobility aids, adult diapers, or anything else your care needs. It is meant to supplement, not replace, the monthly payouts you would also receive from CareShield Life or ElderShield.
Because the payout comes from your finite MediSave balance rather than an insurance pool, it can run out. The size of your monthly withdrawal is tiered to how much you have, and CPF stops the withdrawals before your account is drained below a safe floor.
Three conditions have to be met at the same time. There is no separate sign-up before disability strikes, unlike CareShield Life where you are enrolled in advance.
The same disability yardstick is used across MediSave Care, CareShield Life and ElderShield: you must be unable to do at least 3 of these 6 basic tasks without help. An MOH-accredited assessor makes the call, not your own GP.
Needing assistance with three of these is the line between an inconvenience and a recognised severe disability under CPF rules. Being unable to do only two does not qualify, however much daily help you need.
Your monthly cash amount is not flat at $200. It steps down with your MediSave balance, because CPF protects a $5,000 buffer for your other healthcare bills. The more you hold above that floor, the larger your monthly withdrawal, up to the $200 ceiling.
Once your balance falls into a lower band, your monthly payout drops to match. If it falls below $5,000, withdrawals stop until the balance is topped up again, for example by your next CPF contributions or a cash top-up.
| MediSave Account balance | Maximum monthly cash withdrawal |
|---|---|
| $20,000 and above | $200 |
| $15,000 to $19,999 | $150 |
| $10,000 to $14,999 | $100 |
| $5,000 to $9,999 | $50 |
| Below $5,000 | Not eligible to withdraw |
If your own MediSave cannot support the full $200, your spouse can use theirs to make up the difference. The combined cap is still $200 a month between the two accounts, not $400. The withdrawal from your spouse's account follows the same balance tiers, and their MediSave must also stay above $5,000.
Your spouse has to give consent, and both of you keep the $5,000 floor. This is useful when one partner has run their own MediSave low on care costs but the other still has a healthy balance from years of work.
People mix these up because both pay monthly cash for the same 3-of-6 ADL disability. They are different animals. CareShield Life is compulsory long-term care insurance: you pay premiums for years, and if you become severely disabled it pays a monthly sum for life from an insurance pool, regardless of how much you have saved.
CareShield Life payouts are far larger and never run out. From 2026 the monthly payout is $689, and under the revised scheme it grows 4% a year through to 2030, double the old 2% growth rate. MediSave Care, by contrast, tops out at $200 a month and lasts only as long as your MediSave balance holds up.
In practice a severely disabled person draws both at once. CareShield Life (or ElderShield, for older cohorts) is the main payout; MediSave Care is the extra cash layer on top, paid from your own savings. Think of MediSave Care as a supplement you switch on, and CareShield Life as the insurance that pays the bulk.
| Feature | MediSave Care | CareShield Life |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Withdrawal from your own MediSave | Compulsory long-term care insurance |
| Premium | None | Paid from MediSave; age-30 entry premiums started at $206/yr (male) and $254/yr (female) in 2020 and rise each year (4% a year from 2026) |
| Monthly payout | Up to $200 | $689 in 2026, rising 4% a year |
| How long it lasts | Until MediSave runs low | For life while severely disabled |
| Disability test | 3 of 6 ADLs | 3 of 6 ADLs |
| Minimum age to claim | 30 | 30 |
CareShield Life replaced ElderShield for newer cohorts. If you were born in 1980 or later, you were enrolled into CareShield Life automatically once you turned 30, or from 1 October 2020 if you were already older than 30 then. People born in 1979 or earlier stayed on ElderShield by default, though many born between 1970 and 1979 were moved onto CareShield Life from December 2021, and others can choose to upgrade.
ElderShield pays a fixed monthly sum for a limited period, depending on which plan you bought: ElderShield 300 pays $300 a month for up to 60 months, and ElderShield 400 pays $400 a month for up to 72 months. CareShield Life pays more and pays for life. Whichever insurance layer you are on, MediSave Care sits on top of it as the same $200 cash supplement, using the same 3-of-6 ADL test.
Everything hinges on the severe disability assessment, run by an MOH-accredited assessor. These are registered doctors, nurses, physiotherapists or occupational therapists trained to grade your ADLs, and you find one through the AIC's list of assessors.
The assessment is not free up front. A clinic session costs $100, and a home visit costs $250. You pay the assessor first, and the fee is reimbursed if you are assessed as severely disabled. So a genuine severe disability case ends up paying nothing for the assessment, while a borderline case that does not meet the 3-of-6 line bears the cost.
One assessment does triple duty. The same severe disability assessment is recognised for CareShield Life, ElderShield and MediSave Care, so a single visit can support all three claims rather than three separate assessments. If you are claiming CareShield Life, your first assessment fee is waived outright, win or lose, which makes CareShield Life the natural anchor claim to file alongside MediSave Care.
| Assessment type | Fee | Reimbursed? |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic visit | $100 | Yes, if assessed severely disabled |
| Home visit | $250 | Yes, if assessed severely disabled |
| First CareShield Life assessment | Waived | No fee charged, regardless of outcome |
There is no pre-registration. You apply only after disability has set in, and the process runs through the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), not directly through CPF. AIC takes up to four weeks to process an application once it is submitted, so file it as soon as the assessment is done.
There are three ways to apply: online through AIC's eFASS portal with Singpass, through a nursing home if your relative is admitted to one, or by hardcopy form emailed to AIC. The online route is the fastest and lets you track the application.
Because the same assessment supports CareShield Life and ElderShield, claim every layer you are entitled to in one go rather than one at a time. Pairing the claims means the bulk insurance payout and the $200 MediSave cash supplement start flowing together.
A severe disability assessment is not always one and done. If the assessor judges your disability to be permanent, you will not face routine re-assessments, and your MediSave Care payouts keep running as long as your balance allows. Only fresh evidence that your condition has improved would trigger a review.
If your disability is assessed as potentially recoverable, AIC may ask for periodic re-assessments to confirm you still meet the 3-of-6 ADL line. Those follow-up assessments are free, whatever the result, so re-assessment never costs you. If a later assessment finds you no longer qualify, the monthly withdrawals stop.
Numbers make the tiering clearer than rules do. Picture a 62-year-old who is assessed as severely disabled with $21,000 in MediSave and a spouse who consents to back up the claim.
In the first stretch the balance sits above $20,000, so the full $200 a month is paid, $2,400 over a year. As the balance is drawn down past $20,000, the monthly cash steps to $150, then $100 as it crosses $15,000 and $10,000. Once the account dips under $5,000 the withdrawals pause. At that point the spouse's MediSave, if it is above the tiers, can carry the same capped $200 until it too runs low.
The lesson is blunt: MediSave Care is a finite top-up, not a lifelong income. A healthy MediSave balance going into old age is what keeps the full $200 flowing for longer, which is why ongoing contributions and cash top-ups matter well before any disability.
MediSave Care only works if there is money in the account. The maximum you can hold is the Basic Healthcare Sum, which is $79,000 for members aged 65 and below from 1 January 2026, up from $75,500. Once you hit the Basic Healthcare Sum, further MediSave contributions spill into your other CPF accounts.
Topping up MediSave in cash earns you a tax relief and grows your healthcare buffer, which matters more once you are older and closer to the years when long-term care is likely. You can model your CPF flows with our CPF contribution calculator before deciding how much to top up.
MediSave Care will not single-handedly fund years of care. The realistic plan is MediShield Life and an Integrated Shield Plan for hospital bills, CareShield Life for the bulk of the monthly care payout, and MediSave Care as the $200 cash top-up. Knowing the gaps now is what lets you plan around them.
Up to $200 a month, or $2,400 a year, paid as cash into your bank account. The exact amount steps down with your MediSave balance: $200 if you hold $20,000 or more, $150 at $15,000-$19,999, $100 at $10,000-$14,999, and $50 at $5,000-$9,999. Below $5,000 you cannot withdraw.
A Singapore Citizen or PR aged 30 or above who is assessed by an MOH-accredited assessor as unable to perform 3 or more of the 6 Activities of Daily Living, and who still has at least $5,000 left in MediSave after the withdrawal.
MediSave Care is a withdrawal from your own MediSave, capped at $200 a month and lasting only while your balance holds up. CareShield Life is compulsory insurance paid via premiums; it pays $689 a month in 2026, rising 4% a year, for life. Both use the same 3-of-6 ADL disability test, and a severely disabled person can draw both at once.
Yes. If your own MediSave cannot cover the full $200, your spouse can use theirs to top up, with their consent. The combined cap stays at $200 a month, and your spouse must keep at least $5,000 in their own MediSave.
Book a severe disability assessment with an MOH-accredited assessor through the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), get assessed at 3 or more of 6 ADLs, then apply via AIC's eFASS portal with Singpass. There is no pre-registration; you apply after disability sets in.
Yes. It draws from your finite MediSave balance, so payouts shrink as your balance drops through the tiers and stop entirely once it falls below $5,000. This is the main difference from CareShield Life, which pays for life from an insurance pool.
Yes. They are separate schemes with the same disability test, so a single severe disability assessment can support both claims. CareShield Life provides the main monthly payout and MediSave Care adds up to $200 in cash on top.
A clinic assessment costs $100 and a home visit costs $250. You pay the MOH-accredited assessor up front, and the fee is reimbursed if you are assessed as severely disabled. If you are also claiming CareShield Life, your first assessment fee is waived regardless of the outcome.
AIC takes up to four weeks to process an application after it is submitted. You can apply online through AIC's eFASS portal with Singpass, through a nursing home, or by hardcopy form. The assessment has to be done first, so allow extra time to book and complete it.
Not if your disability is assessed as permanent; payouts continue as long as your MediSave balance allows. If your condition is judged potentially recoverable, AIC may schedule periodic re-assessments to confirm you still meet the 3-of-6 ADL test. Re-assessments are free regardless of the outcome.
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.