Introduction to Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund
The Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) provides holistic support for seniors to age in place within the community by extending subsidies to Singaporean seniors:
- Requiring mobility and assistive devices for daily independent living and to remain ambulant in the community
- Receiving government funded home care and care within the community, needing home healthcare items for their care
SMF Subsidies Available
To support ageing in place, if your elderly who lives at home and needs subsidies for assistive devices or home healthcare items, you can apply for the following SMF subsidies:
Assistive Devices
This refers to items that help an elderly person move around, such as walking stick, wheelchair and pushchair. It also includes things that an elderly person may need at home, such as commode, pressure relief cushion and hospital bed as well as spectacles and hearing aids.
Please note that SMF subsidies are provided through the application only, reimbursement for any purchase prior to an approved application is strictly not allowed.
Note: From 14 February 2022, eligible seniors will be able to apply for replacements of devices when their devices reach the end of their life-span1, as well as apply for customised and specialised devices. Please refer to MOH’s Press Release MOH’s Press Release for more information.
1 End of device’s life-span will correspond to the device category’s Black-out period.
Home Healthcare Items
Frail seniors who can stay in nursing homes but choose to stay at home and be supported by home healthcare services in their community can get subsidies for the cost of catheters, milk supplements, thickeners, adult diapers, nasal tubing and wound dressings.
Note: From 1 Aug 2022, seniors and/or caregivers would be able to use a new commercial marketplace, Vertis, to place orders for subsidised home healthcare items.
Seniors and/or caregivers who are previously ordering from Health MarketPlace (HMP) should visit the Vertis portal to register for an account before making their first order on Vertis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have questions about SMF? We may have the answer here.
If you are a needy Singaporean aged 60 years and above, you can apply. You need to go through a financial assessment.
You also need to go for a clinical needs assessment to find out the types of mobility aids suitable for you before the assessor prescribe the devices.
You must not be concurrently receiving (or apply for) any other public or private grants/subsidies that exceed the amount of co-payment by you under the SMF scheme for the device(s) you are applying for under SMF.
Seniors and persons with disabilities will be served under one scheme throughout their lifetime. If the individual has tapped on ATF2 before the age of 60, they will continue to be served by ATF throughout their lifetime. On the other hand, if the individual has not tapped on ATF subsidies before the age of 60, they would be served by SMF throughout their lifetime.
Individuals can approach their care provider, e.g. hospitals, community care organisations, social service agencies, to enquire about their eligibility for the schemes. They may also approach the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) or SG Enable (SGE) if they are not currently receiving support from any care provider.
2 The Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) Provides subsidies for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to purchase the assistive technology devices to enable independent living.
Some seniors and persons with disabilities may have received subsidies from both SMF and ATF2 to meet their needs. With the policy changes for both SMF and ATF schemes from 14 Feb 2022, both schemes will adopt a more citizen-centric approach where seniors and persons with disabilities would be served under just one scheme and agency throughout their lifetime. As such, individuals would not need to navigate between schemes, reducing confusion.
2 The Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) Provides subsidies for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to purchase the assistive technology devices to enable independent living.
You must pass means-test under Ministry of Health’s SMF Assistive Device or Consumables Subsidy framework. Your household monthly income per person of $2,000 and below OR Annual Value (AV) of residence reflected on NRIC of $13,000 and below for households with no income.
If you have upcoming appointments with any hospitals, day rehabilitation centre, senior care centre or Active Aging Centres etc, the easiest way is for you to approach them for assistance as they are familiar with your medical history. The institution/therapists may go on to conduct an assessment to and order the device for you once the application is approved.
Click here for the full details on applying for SMF subsidies for Assistive Devices.
You can also contact AIC for referral if you do not know any hospitals or care providers.
What is the funding amount?
You will get up to 90% subsidy for the cost of the mobility aid or 90% of the maximum device subsidy cap, whichever is lower.
You can use SMF subsidies for the following types of devices:
- Walking aids
- Basic wheelchair / pushchair
- Motorised wheelchair / scooter
- Pressure relief cushion
- Pressure relief mattress
- Commode / shower chair
- Geriatric chair
- Hospital bed
- Special equipment such as oxygen concentrator, suction pump or transfer board
- Spectacles
- Hearing aids
- Motorised wheelchair replacement battery
- Customised and specialised devices such as
- Manual/motorised wheelchairs with customisations or modifications on arm rest
- Prosthesis / orthosis
- Vision and reading aids
You can use SMF subsidies for the following types of home healthcare items:
- Adult diapers
- Catheters and catheter set
- Milk feeds
- Nasal tubing
- Nasogastric tubes and pH indication test strips
- Thickeners
- Wound dressings