Table of Contents

Introduction to the Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly

The Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) is an assistance scheme that was set up in 2002 for a small group of seniors who were not eligible for ElderShield at the time, because they were too old or had pre-existing disabilities.

If these seniors develop severe disabilities, they can receive $150 or $250 monthly cash payout (depending on their financial circumstances) for up to 72 months. There is no restriction on how the payments should be used, as long as they are used for the care of the disabled IDAPE claimant.

For example, the payments can offset:

  • Medical bills
  • Nursing costs
  • Hiring a foreign domestic worker (FDW) as a helper to care for the disabled IDAPE claimant

The senior may nominate himself/herself, a caregiver who is 21 years old and above, or a nursing home that the senior is residing in to receive the IDAPE payout.

How to Qualify

To be eligible for IDAPE, the care recipient must meet the following criteria:

Age

  • Born on or before 30 September 1932; OR
  • Born between 1 October 1932 and 30 September 1962 (both dates inclusive), with pre-existing disabilities as of 30 September 2002.

Means Tested

Household monthly income per person* Monthly Cash Benefits
$0 – $2,600 $250
$2,601 – $3,600 $150

* For household with no income, annual value (AV) of property must be ≤ $21,000

Nationality

Must be a Singapore Citizen.

Lives in Singapore


Eligibility for Other Schemes

Must not be a policyholder of

  • CareShield Life and/or supplement, or,
  • ElderShield and/or supplement

And did not make any claims for

  • CareShield Life and/or supplement, or,
  • ElderShield and/or supplement

 

Requires Assistance with Activities of Daily Living

Requires full assistance with at least three of the six Activities of Daily Living. These six activities are:

Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly - Feeding
Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly - Dressing
Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly - Toileting
Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly - Washing
Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly - Walking
IDAPE - Transferring From Bed to Chair

How to Apply

Video Guide on eFASS Application Portal

After the application is submitted

We may take up to four weeks to process your application and will inform you of the outcome in writing by mail. If your application is successful, payouts will be made to your nominated bank account in the following month, which may include payouts from the month the application was submitted.

The care recipient will continue to receive monthly payouts in the nominated bank account by the end of every month as long as the care recipient remains eligible.

Please contact AIC at 1800-650-6060 if you require any assistance.

For Existing Scheme Recipients

  1. If you would like to change the care recipient’s scheme details, please login with your Singpass on eFASS under “Manage My Schemes” > “Change in Scheme Details”.
    • Please download and submit the Mental Incapacity Certification (if recipient lacks mental capacity).
    • If the care recipient is undergoing a disability assessment, you should explicitly request for a mental capacity assessment, if required, to be also conducted by the doctor for the care recipient at the same time.

      • When making the appointment, you should check in with the doctor if he/she can also perform the mental capacity assessment, if required, for the purpose of applying for AIC schemes.

    • If the care recipient is residing in a nursing home, and you are nominating the nursing home to receive the payout, please approach the nursing home for assistance.
  2. If you wish to opt-out from receiving IDAPE payouts, please login with your Singpass on the eFASS. Go to “Manage My Schemes” > “Change in Scheme Details”.
  3. If you are unable to update scheme details or opt out of scheme using the eFASS, please email us at apply@aic.sg, or walk in to any of our AIC Links to request for a hardcopy application form. We seek your understanding that hardcopy applications have a longer processing time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions about IDAPE? We may have the answer here:

Additional guidance for care recipient without mental capacity

Additional guidance for care recipient who lacks mental capacity to provide consent

1. The care recipient’s donee/deputy# may provide consent on the care recipient’s behalf. If the care recipient does not have such a donee/deputy, the caregiver* may make the application on care recipient’s behalf.

# Donee/deputy must be appointed in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act (Cap 177) and is authorised to make decisions on behalf of the care recipient in relation to the care recipient’s property and affairs.

* For successful applications without a donee/deputy and paying to 3rd party bank accounts (not applicable to nursing home accounts), the caregiver or another family member has 12 months to obtain a court order appointing him/her as a deputy, failing which the payouts will be suspended. For more information on how to apply for a deputyship, please visit the Family Justice Courts website.

2. If a mental capacity assessment is required when applying on behalf of a patient who lacks mental capacity:

A mental capacity certification (to be certified by doctors) is required when applying on behalf of a patient who lacks mental capacity.

  • If the care recipient is undergoing a disability assessment, you should explicitly request for a mental capacity assessment, if required, to be also conducted by the doctor for the care recipient at the same time. 
    • When making the appointment, you should check in with the doctor if he/she can also perform the mental capacity assessment to obtain the certification, if required, for the purpose of applying for AIC schemes.

Doctor’s certification for mental incapacity is only valid for six months, unless stated permanent.

3. Please submit the following additional supporting documents:

  • Doctor’s certification that the care recipient lacks mental capacity OR court order of deputy appointment OR recent medical report stating that the care recipient lacks mental capacity; and
  • Copy of bank book or statement IF you are nominating an account belonging to a deputy or trustee of the care recipient.

Why do I need the NRIC issue date? How do I find the NRIC issue date?

AIC requires the input of the NRIC issue date for verification purposes.

How do I change my IDAPE payment account?

You can login with your SingPass on eFASS and navigate to “Manage My Schemes” > “Change in Scheme Details”.

If you are changing the nominated bank account on behalf of a care recipient who lacks mental capacity, you will need to submit a Mental Incapacity Certification if you have not done so before. Please refer to Additional Guidance for more information.

If you are nominating a nursing home to receive the payouts, please approach the nursing home to help you submit the Change in Application Details Form to AIC.

Do keep a copy of the application documents for your own reference.

How do I know whether I am severely disabled?

You would need to visit a MOH-accredited severe disability assessor to be assessed whether you are severely disabled. You are likely to be assessed as severely disabled if you are unable to perform at least three activities of daily living (ADLs). These ADLs are bathing, dressing, feeding oneself, using the toilet, moving around and transferring.

For example, at least three of the following scenarios apply to you:

  • You may need to rely entirely on your caregiver to be fed
  • You may need to rely entirely on your caregiver to be bathed
  • You may need to rely entirely on your caregiver to manage your diapers or catheter
  • You may need to rely entirely on your caregiver to be dressed
  • You need to rely entirely on caregiver to move over a distance, e.g. cannot walk on one’s own or push oneself in a wheelchair
  • You need to be fully supported when being transferred from bed to chair, or chair to bed

You will be reimbursed fully for the assessment fee if you are assessed to be severely disabled. If you are assessed to have mild/ moderate disability, you may still be eligible for mild/ moderate disability assistance schemes like the Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme, Home Caregiving Grant and FDW Levy Concession.

For information on the different levels of disability and how to apply for IDAPE and other forms of financial support, please refer to the information on www.aic.sg/financial-assistance.

Can I see my own doctor or therapist to be assessed for IDAPE eligibility?

If you wish to apply for IDAPE or any of the severe disability schemes, you need to undergo a severe disability assessment by an MOH-accredited severe disability assessor who has undergone a rigorous training programme to learn how to assess disability accurately. You may wish to check if your own doctor or healthcare professional is on the list of MOH accredited severe disability assessors. This can be found here. If they are not, you will need to make an appointment with one of the assessors on the list for an assessment.

Do I need to pay for a severe disability assessment? How much are the assessment fees?

The fees for clinic-based and non-clinic-based assessments are $100 and $250 respectively. Assessment fees will be reimbursed only if the care recipient is assessed to be severely disabled.

Would someone with dementia or other cognitive impairments automatically qualify for IDAPE?

An applicant with dementia or other cognitive impairments will not automatically qualify for IDAPE, and will still need to undergo a severe disability assessment by an MOH-accredited severe disability assessor. This is because dementia or cognitive impairment could affect the applicant’s functional abilities to varying extents. The MOH-accredited severe disability assessors have undergone a rigorous training programme to learn how to assess an applicant’s level of disability, including taking into account the impact of cognitive impairment on an applicant’s functional abilities.

Is there a periodic re-assessment? How often would it be? Can this be waived?

An annual periodic re-assessment may be required to assess if a care recipient of a severe disability scheme continues to meet the criteria for receiving payouts/withdrawals. Periodic re-assessment fees are waived, regardless of the outcome of the assessment. We will write to the care recipient if a periodic re-assessment is required.

Care recipients who are assessed as permanently severely disabled will be exempted from disability re-assessments, unless new information comes in to suggest that the care recipient’s condition has improved.

If my IDAPE payout had ceased due to recovery, can I subsequently reapply if I become severely disabled again?

Yes, you can reapply and receive IDAPE payouts again if assessed to meet all eligibility criteria.

Will Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) be eligible for IDAPE?

The priority of IDAPE is to provide support for Singapore Citizens living in Singapore. PRs will not be eligible for IDAPE.

Do Singaporeans residing overseas qualify for IDAPE payouts?

The priority of IDAPE is to provide support for Singapore Citizens living in Singapore. Singaporeans residing overseas will not qualify for IDAPE.

I am a beneficiary of moderate disability assistance schemes such as the Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme (PioneerDAS) or Home Caregiving Grant (HCG), will I automatically qualify for IDAPE?

The IDAPE eligibility criteria is stricter than that of PioneerDAS and HCG.

For PioneerDAS and HCG, which are moderate disability schemes, individuals only need to require some assistance with three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). For IDAPE, which is a severe disability scheme, individuals need to be unable to perform three or more ADLs (i.e. require significant assistance) in order to be eligible. As the IDAPE eligibility criteria is stricter, care recipients who are eligible for IDAPE can automatically receive PioneerDAS or HCG payouts without going for a separate assessment (subject to meeting the other non-disability eligibility criteria for these schemes), but not the converse.

I am not covered under ElderShield/CareShield Life basic plan but I have its supplement plan. Can I still apply for IDAPE?

To be eligible for IDAPE, the care recipient must not be a policyholder of CareShield Life, ElderShield and/or its supplement plans. Additionally, the care recipient would not be eligible for IDAPE if any claims related to CareShield Life, ElderShield, CareShield Life or ElderShield supplement plans have been made.

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