
In this Explainer, find out...
What is Singapore doing to make living environments more senior-friendly?
How effective has EASE been in promoting active ageing and inclusivity in Singapore?
How does EASE fit into wider government efforts to address the needs of an ageing population?
INTRODUCTION
One in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030. This ageing population brings about many new challenges such as an increased demand for healthcare resources, a shrinking workforce and a greater need for senior-friendly infrastructure.
Active ageing is a continuous process that aims to strengthen one’s quality of life by optimising physical, mental and social health. This is achieved through various measures—from active community involvement to building financial security. It has been identified as a way to tackle the problems brought about by a rapidly ageing population. A senior-friendly environment is thus important in ensuring an inclusive environment that is accessible to all elderly people.
In this Policy Explainer, we will shed light on the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme and its contributions to seniors’ living environments. We will highlight how the promotion of active ageing was one of the key motivations behind the implementation of EASE. Apart from active ageing, it has also promoted inclusivity in Singapore by providing opportunities for the elderly to lead more productive and fulfilling lives.
WHAT IS THE EASE PROGRAMME?
EASE was introduced in 2012 to address the issue of falls, a common cause of injuries among the elderly at home. One-third of individuals aged 60 and above experience a fall at least once. Moreover, falls are the cause of 40 per cent of injury-related deaths in Singapore. EASE aims to help seniors move more safely and independently at home by providing subsidised installations of fittings around the house that can help prevent falls, such as grab bars and slip-resistant treatment to floor tiles in toilets.
As Singapore shifts towards becoming ‘super-aged’, there is an urgent need to improve and upscale senior-friendly facilities to prepare for higher demand. Introduced in 2024, EASE 2.0 represents an upgrade to address the evolving needs of seniors.
AN EVALUATION OF EASE
EASE has helped over 293,000 households since its launch in July 2012. Since the implementation of EASE 2.0, more than 11,000 households have applied for the new in-home fittings, a significant rise compared to the average monthly applications to EASE prior.
Features of EASE and EASE 2.0
EASE and EASE 2.0 share many features that help our seniors navigate their homes safely. First, both EASE and EASE 2.0 offer a variety of senior-friendly fittings in homes. Initially, EASE only offered three fittings—slip-resistant treatment to floor tiles in bathrooms, grab bars in toilets, and ramps in the flat and/or at the main entrance. Under EASE 2.0, the number of fittings increased from three to eleven, providing households with a wider variety of installation choices (see Figure 1).
Second, substantial subsidies are disbursed to seniors who apply for EASE and EASE 2.0. These are offered at varying rates based on flat type (see Figure 2). Owners can choose the items they need and pay between 5 per cent and 12.5 per cent of the total cost. The progressive nature of these subsidies ensures that seniors of all backgrounds and income brackets can benefit from a range of in-home fittings at an affordable price.
Third, both EASE and EASE 2.0 focus on mobility and health needs. Singaporean flat owners qualify for EASE subsidies if they live with a family member aged 65 or older or between 60 and 64 and require assistance with at least one Activity of Daily Living (ADL), such as washing, dressing, and toileting.


Promoting Active Ageing
Active ageing helps to promote healthy living and extend life expectancy and quality of life for all, including those who are frail, disabled and in need of care. Nationwide installations of senior-friendly home fittings through EASE facilitate this by enabling independence and self-reliance, which many elderly people in Singapore treasure post-retirement. These installations can reduce their dependency on full-time caregivers, allowing those who prefer to “age in place” to enjoy greater autonomy as they live their golden years.
EASE also assists seniors in managing their struggles with ADLs. This is crucial to active ageing as it ensures that all seniors can live independently in their homes with safety and dignity.
Nevertheless, loneliness remains a major social hardship that many elderly people in Singapore face. Giving seniors the pride and dignity of living without relying on others is important, but active ageing also requires social fulfilment. Therefore, promoting self-reliance should be complemented with measures that encourage the elderly to interact with their local communities meaningfully.
On this note, South Korea’s long-term care facilities (LTCFs) can be a potential reference for Singapore’s approach to active ageing. LTCF residents have their cognitive and physical needs thoroughly assessed and are given opportunities to participate in tailored programmes. This individualised approach recognises that the optimal and most fulfilling way to realise active ageing may differ from person to person.
Fostering Inclusivity
Besides promoting active ageing, EASE helps to increase public awareness about the importance of considering intergenerational needs. Adding senior-friendly features as a distinct feature in Singapore’s homes may cultivate a deeper understanding of how exactly seniors need assistance.
However, there have been concerns about worsening ‘negative stereotypes’ against the elderly. In particular, the large-scale installation of fittings meant solely for the elderly may unintentionally reinforce the ageist view that seniors are weak and burdensome.
Therefore, care must be exercised to prevent social stigma, maintain cohesion and foster true inclusivity. Active ageing requires that people of all generations take part in building an age-inclusive environment, where everyone makes a conscious effort to understand the different kinds of physical and social support seniors need. In this effort, youths have the potential to play a big role in many ways: advocacy on behalf of seniors, intergenerational volunteering and providing balanced perspectives on inclusive design efforts among others.
Policy Challenges and Limitations
Currently, EASE 2.0 does not cover private homes—partly because the designs and layouts of private homes vary greatly from Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats, and partly because they do not fall under HDB’s purview. This underlines an opportunity for the Government to help enhance the safety of seniors who live in private homes.
Moreover, for older seniors living alone, navigating the application process for EASE could be difficult. As a result, they could miss out on valuable modifications provided by EASE, even though they may be the ones who need them the most. In this light, government and community stakeholders must continue to make conscious efforts to ensure that all seniors who would benefit from EASE are not left behind.
BROADER GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO ENHANCE SENIOR-FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES
Apart from in-home facility improvements, further enhancements to communities have also been implemented to address the emerging needs of the ageing population. These initiatives can be broadly classified into ones that improve neighbourhood infrastructure and accessibility and ones that promote community and social engagement.
Neighbourhood Infrastructure and Accessibility
First, initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) for public residential areas and the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) for private residential areas have included various senior-friendly facilities in neighbourhood planning and design across Singapore. These include therapeutic gardens with wheelchair-friendly planter boxes, fitness trails connecting senior-centric amenities, and wayfinding features along routes frequently used by seniors under the NRP. Likewise, senior-friendly enhancements such as rest points and barrier-free access ramps will be integrated into private estates under the EUP. These neighbourhoods, designed to be highly accessible and safe, will incentivise seniors to step out of their homes and be more physically active.
Second, to improve the safety and ease of movement of seniors within their neighbourhoods, the ‘Friendly Streets’ programme will be implemented at places of high pedestrian traffic and expanded to cover all towns by 2030. As an extension to existing efforts such as the Silver Zones programme, Friendly Streets will include features like barrier-free crossings, more frequent and longer ‘green man’ activations, and traffic calming measures to slow vehicles down (see Figure 3). By prioritising pedestrians on the roads, these features contribute to a safer neighbourhood for all, especially seniors, promoting active ageing.

Notably, EASE only represents one of the many efforts to enhance overall living environments within neighbourhoods (see Figure 4). From this, we can see how improving neighbourhood facilities in the wider community is just as important as the in-home enhancements implemented under EASE.

Community and Social Engagement
Beyond enhancing the physical environment, it is also important for policies to address the social needs of seniors, focusing on integrating them into society and fostering their sense of belonging as they age. Active community and social engagement are critical to achieving this goal.
For instance, Active Ageing Centres (AACs), which are recreational centres within neighbourhoods, allow seniors to build strong social connections, take part in recreational activities such as cooking and exercising, and contribute to their community. An extension to the AAC is the AAC (Care), which provides additional care services such as daycare and community rehabilitation in separate facilities nearby.
AACs have the potential to address the needs of a large proportion of the ageing population because anyone aged 60 and above can participate in these activities, regardless of their housing type and socioeconomic status. This is reflected through increased government efforts to expand the quantity of AACs around Singapore from 157 to 220 by 2025 so that eight in 10 seniors will live close to an AAC. The Ministry of Health aims to allocate around $800 million from 2024 to 2028 to better resource AACs, allowing them to increase outreach efforts to seniors who are at a greater risk of social isolation and frailty.
Apart from AACs, Community Care Apartments (CCAs) support seniors in ageing independently by integrating senior-friendly housing with care and social services. For instance, under the Basic Service Package, seniors will be supported by an onsite community manager who will assist in arranging add-on care and support services and coordinating activities within shared spaces. This is crucial, especially for seniors who require permanent assistance with ADLs. They will also get access to basic health checks and 24-hour emergency monitoring and response. Most importantly, with furnished communal spaces on every CCA floor, seniors will be able to socialise with and support one another.
CONCLUSION
The challenges posed by Singapore’s rapidly ageing population have necessitated government intervention to address the growing needs of the elderly. Apart from improving healthcare facilities to meet the rising demand for medical care, the Government has also invested heavily to address the physical needs of seniors by promoting active ageing through home- and neighbourhood-level infrastructural enhancements so that seniors can live independently and safely. As part of a multifaceted approach to building a supportive and inclusive environment, these efforts enable seniors to age with EASE more healthily and productively within their communities.
This Policy Explainer was written by members of MAJU. MAJU is a ground-up, fully youth-led organisation dedicated to empowering Singaporean youths in policy discourse and co-creation.
By promoting constructive dialogue and serving as a bridge between youths and the Government, we hope to drive the keMAJUan (progress!) of Singapore.
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