Caring for a Loved One? Remember To Protect Yourself with Singlife CareShield

Being a caregiver for a loved one with a disability can affect your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. It's also a reminder to get adequate coverage from your disability insurance. Here are some ways to cope with the stress of caring for a loved one and protect yourself for the unforeseeable future

Caring for a loved one with a disability at home will not only take a toll on your finances but also on your overall well-being. 

This can affect your emotional, mental, and physical health, plus you may also experience a change in your attitude, from positive and caring, to negative and apathetic. What’s more, it can have an impact on both your personal and professional life too, especially if you’re also juggling between work and other responsibilities. 

If you’re experiencing caregiver fatigue, below are some ways to help you cope better.

1. Take care of your own health

You can’t take care of others if you neglect your own health. And this means eating and sleeping well, exercising to relieve anxiety and stress, and setting time for yourself to be well-rested. 

2. Speak to a professional or join a support group

Caring for a loved one is not only physically draining, but mentally as well. If you need to speak to someone to cope with your emotional and mental well-being, you can talk to a professional. There are therapists, social workers, and psychologists to offer you advice especially if you have feelings of guilt, frustration or depression.

Aside from that, you can also join a support group where you can express your feelings to others who are in the same situation or have gone through similar experiences. This helps you to deal with stress, prevent isolation, and cope with burnout. You can also speak to other caregivers for support or advice. 

3. Turn to respite care options

Most caregivers place their loved one's needs above theirs and are either too busy caring for them or feel guilty if they spend time on themselves. 

However, this can be overwhelming and neglecting your own health can lead to burnout. 

One short-term solution is to tap into nursing care homes or senior care centres through respite care options. 

Through these services, a professional worker will step in temporarily to take over and look after your loved one, including their daily care needs such as feeding and toileting, as well as engaging them in social activities such as simple exercises and group activities with other seniors. 

This can be for a few days or up to a month, allowing you to take a breather so that you can look after your own well-being.

Alternatively, you may also consider hiring a domestic worker so that you have an extra pair of hands for help and don’t have to manage all the tasks on your own.

4. Ask others for help

If you need someone to run some errands or watch over your loved one while you’re out, don’t hesitate to ask close family members or friends for help. You may be surprised that some people are willing to volunteer and share caregiving duties.

5. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself

Know your limits and don’t feel guilty about turning to others for help. Especially with diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's, there’ll be a time when your loved one will need help and care at a nursing home or an assisted-living facility.

How insurance can help ease the burden of disability

With declining birth rates and rising life expectancy, Singapore’s old-age dependency ratio (the number of people 65 years old and above per hundred residents aged 15 to 64 years) in Singapore has jumped from 13.5 in 2012 to 23.1 in 2021. 

What’s more, the risk of disability among the elderly is more prominent. According to a recent study by The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, those who are 85 years and above have a higher chance of getting a functional disability, while 1 in 6 Singaporeans will have at least one disability by 2050.

That means everyone should be prepared with a disability plan to afford the care they need, should their circumstances change at any time.  

In Singapore, all Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents aged 30 and above will receive monthly cash payouts from CareShield Life for as long as they’re disabled. While this offers some financial protection for long-term care costs, the payout starts from S$624 in 2022 and increases at 2% p.a. to catch up with the cost of healthcare.

According to Singlife’s Long-term Care Study, the average monthly cost for long-term care is S$2,324¹. This is for things like hiring a caregiver, medication, therapy and even assistive devices and mobility aids such as a wheelchair, commodes, bed rails, and a hospital bed. 

If the insured is unable to work and suffers from a loss of income, this means that you’ll need to fork out the difference of over S$1,700 from your pocket. 

What’s more, the payouts from CareShield Life will only kick in if the insured suffers from severe disability, i.e. is unable to perform at least three of the six ADL. These are: washing, dressing, feeding, toileting, walking or moving around, and transferring.

Source

One way to cope with the financial strain is to upgrade your CareShield Life plan with a CareShield supplement plan offered by private insurers. This allows you to increase your coverage as well as your monthly payouts. 

For example, Singlife offers two types of CareShield Life supplement plans: a standard plan (Singlife CareShield Standard) and a premium plan (Singlife CareShield Plus). Let’s look at some of the benefits offered by both plans. 

Find out more about both plans to decide which suits you better. 

Receive up to S$5,000 in monthly payouts

Both Singlife CareShield Standard and CareShield Plus allow you to choose your monthly payout amount, which ranges from S$200 to S$5,000 monthly. And in case you’re wondering, it’s stackable with the payout from CareShield Life, meaning you can get monthly payouts from Singlife CareShield supplements on top of CareShield Life payouts. 

The monthly payouts from Singlife CareShield plans are for life, as long as you’re considered severely disabled under the respective plans.

For Singlife CareShield Standard, you’re considered “severely disabled” if you cannot perform at least three of the six ADLs — similar to CareShield Life. 

On the other hand, Singlife CareShield Plus considers you to be “severely disabled” if you can’t perform at least two out of the six ADLs. 

Another benefit is that premiums will be waived but you’ll remain covered when you have a mild disability, which is when you’re unable to perform at least one ADL. 

Flexible premiums, payouts, and payment terms

As previously mentioned, both Singlife CareShield plans allow you to choose your monthly payout amount which ranges from S$200 to S$5,000 per month.

On top of this, you can also choose between a fixed and escalating structure. 

The former will see your monthly payout and premium remain the same throughout the policy term, while the latter will ensure that your monthly payouts increase by 2% or 3% per year to help you cope with inflation. 

Your premiums will follow the payout structure until the end of the term unless a claim is made. And yes, you can pay for the premiums using your MediSave, up to S$600 a year. 

Lastly, you can also choose your preferred payment period; whether you want to pay up to the policy anniversary after you turn 98*, or for a limited time, up to the policy anniversary after you turn 68, or for 20 years if you join the policy when you’re 49 and above.

Other benefits of Singlife CareShield plans

Beyond supplementing your monthly payouts to aid your recovery, Singlife CareShield Standard and Plus plans also provide extended benefits and payouts: 

Caregiver Relief Benefit

Receive an additional 60% of your monthly benefit to help cope with the cost of hiring a caregiver when you’re receiving your monthly benefit or rehabilitation benefit. 

Lump-sum Benefit

Receive an additional lump-sum payout that’s 3X your monthly benefit when you’re severely disabled. This can help you to offset the costs of purchasing mobility equipment and devices such as a wheelchair, bed rails, and transfer boards.

Rehabilitation Benefit (for Singlife CareShield Standard only)

When your condition improves but you’re still unable to perform two ADLs independently, you’ll continue to receive a monthly payout equal to 50% of your last monthly benefit. 

Dependant care benefit

If you’re claiming the monthly benefit or Rehabilitation Benefit, you’ll also receive a monthly Dependant Care Benefit that’s 20% of your monthly benefit for up to 36 months if you have a child who is below 22 years old*.

This helps to ease some of your financial worries as you focus on your recovery.

Death benefit

If you pass on while receiving your monthly benefit or rehabilitation benefit, a lump-sum payout of 3X of the last paid monthly benefit or Rehabilitation Benefit will also be paid to your beneficiary. 

Guaranteed Issuance Option (GIO)

Under this policy, you can apply to increase your monthly benefit by up to 50% without any evidence of insurability, or proof of health at any of the following life stage events:

1. Purchases a property

2. Marries, divorces or is widowed

3. Becomes a parent by having a newborn child, or legally adopted a child below 19 age next birthday (ANB)

4. Salary increases by 50% or more from application

5. Completes a skills development course of at least six months

6. Purchases a new Individual Life Insurance policy or a Supplementary Benefit from Singlife Ltd with full underwriting at standard terms

7. Spouse suffers a severe disability (inability to perform at least three of the six ADLs)

This option is only available at your policy inception at standard terms. If you choose to increase your monthly benefit, your premiums will also increase accordingly. 

Enjoy a 20% lifetime premium discount when you purchase Singlife CareShield plans

For a limited time, Singlife is offering a lifetime 20% discount when you purchase the Singlife CareShield Standard or Plus plans. You’ll need to meet the annual premium of S$500 per policy. 

This promotion is ongoing until further notice, and updates are available at the Singlife website.

Find out more about Singlife here.