Government to consider combining Healthcare Insurance with Annuity

Experts recently discussed the combination of an annuity with healthcare insurance for the elderly at the Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition which opened at the Suntec Convention Centre yesterday.

Professor Robert Merton of Harvard Business School said: “The idea of combining the annuity with healthcare insurance is that when the person has the need for extra health treatment, such as long-term care, it's less likely that they'll live long and so the extra cost of paying for that medical expense is offset by the fact that they don't have to pay the annuity for a long period.”

Singapore has been looking into Longevity Healthcare Insurance since last year. Asked if the government would go ahead with Robert Merton’s suggestion, the minister in charge of aging issues said, I think it is an interesting idea. It deserves some attention and some study.

Mr. Lim, minister in charge of aging issues said that the silver industry is a very new area but he is confident that, as the sector develops, Singapore will be able to share what it has discovered with other countries and become a healthcare leader for others.

The population over sixty years of age is expected to quadruple by the year 2050. “They're intellectually active, physically healthy, well-travelled and experienced. But precisely because of that, they're willing to spend a lot for good service and quality, and they're ideal consumers for niche products which can then become mainstream," said Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman for Banyan Tree Holdings. “This consumer class is likely to be more demanding and more discriminating than any other.”