Housing and the elderly in Singapore - financial and quality of life implications of ageing in place

In spite of the unprecedented success of publichousing in Singapore, the rapid rate at whichthe population is greying is causing housingstress in the matured Housing and DevelopmentBoard (HDB) estates. Although new housingoptions such as studio apartments are beingprovided by the public sector while a recentlyformed housing cooperative is developing aretirement village, the majority of the elderlyin Singapore prefer to age in place,notwithstanding the imbalance between thedemands of their homes and the functioninglevel of the elderly persons' physical andbiological systems. This implies that homemodification, rather than new-built elderlyhousing, may be a more pragmatic solution tothe elderly Singaporeans' housing problems thatcould also improve their quality of life. Since85% of the population of Singapore live inpublic housing, this paper examines the typesof home modifications that could be carried outto the existing stock of public housing so asto create a suitable living environment for theelderly. In addition, the paper considers thehousing finance predicaments of the elderlySingaporean and explores possible financinginstruments that could be implemented tosupport home modifications for Singapore'sgreying population. The paper concludes thatsince home modification(s) could improve thequality of life of the elderly persons morethan specialised housing, public funds shouldbe diverted from building new specialisedhousing to home modification(s) for elderlyhome owners.