Some families caring for persons with disabilities in Singapore could see their monthly disability-care expenses fall by about 25% to 80% by 2028, under recommendations from the Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities.
The changes are meant to make adult disability services more affordable and predictable, especially for families planning long-term care.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development said earlier that the recommendations include fee caps for all disability services and higher means-tested subsidies for most families. The affordability changes are expected to be implemented by 2028.
What Is Being Proposed
Under the recommendations, MSF will introduce fee caps for disability services.
In simple terms, this means there will be limits on what families pay out of pocket after government subsidies. This gives families a clearer idea of how much they may need to set aside every month, instead of facing large and uncertain long-term costs.
Means-tested subsidies for adult disability services will also rise by at least 10 percentage points for most families.
The higher subsidies will apply across services such as day activity centres, the Enabling Skills for Life Programme, adult disability hostels, adult disability homes, children disability homes, the Enabling Transport Subsidy and the Taxi Subsidy Scheme.
More Middle-Income Families Could Qualify
The subsidy eligibility ceiling is also set to be raised.
Currently, the per capita monthly household income threshold is S$4,800. Under the recommendations, it will rise to around S$6,000.
Per capita household income simply means the total monthly household income divided by the number of people living in the household.
This change would expand subsidy coverage to about eight in 10 households of people with disabilities, compared with about seven in 10 now.
Lower-income households will continue to receive the highest level of support. For community-based services such as day activity centres, they could pay no more than S$10 a month, down from the current S$20 to S$60.
How Much Could Families Save?
Families of persons with higher support needs are expected to see some of the biggest reductions.
For example, a family of four living in an HDB flat with a monthly household income of S$6,000, or S$1,500 per person, would pay S$40 a month for a day activity centre place, down from S$210.
For an adult disability home, the same family’s monthly fee would fall from S$3,500 to S$700.
Another example given was a family of four earning S$13,000 a month, or S$3,250 per person. Their day activity centre fees would fall from S$710 to S$400, while adult disability home fees would fall from S$7,000 to S$1,600.
By 2030, about 5,000 persons with disabilities using community and residential disability services are expected to benefit from the affordability changes.
More Places Will Also Be Added
The task force also recommended increasing the number of spaces in day activity centres and sheltered workshops.
This is important because lower fees alone do not help if families cannot access a suitable place.
Another 1,300 spaces are expected to be added by 2030, on top of 1,000 additional places that had already been announced in 2024. That brings the total planned increase to 2,300 spaces by 2030.
These places will be added to the current capacity of about 3,600.
In 2026, close to 440 new day activity centre and sheltered workshop spaces have already been set up in areas such as Queenstown, Bukit Merah and Ang Mo Kio. Another 440 spaces are expected to be ready in 2027.
Why This Matters to Caregivers
The task force has said disability-related care needs can last a lifetime, and recurring costs can add up significantly for families.
This is especially difficult when caregivers cannot work full-time because of caregiving duties.
A major worry for families is also the so-called “post-18 cliff”. This refers to the uncertainty some persons with disabilities and their caregivers face after leaving special education school, including questions over employment, adult disability services and long-term care arrangements.
The affordability measures are part of wider recommendations from the task force, which also cover future planning, meaningful employment and community participation.
The Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities was announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in December 2025. It has been looking at ways to strengthen support for persons with disabilities and their families across life stages.
