Singapore’s government is revisiting the possibility of a reverse mortgage program to help its aging population in retirement, its National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said Monday.
According to a Today report, Khaw said before a government committee meeting that elderly Singaporeans had suggested the possibility themselves as a means to age in place as well as retain their home assets.
Khaw said the ministry is reviewing an “Enahnced Lease Buyback scheme” to determine whether it might be expanded.
The pursuit is not the first for Singapore and reverse mortgages; a similar loan type was offered for public housing in 2006 for Singaporeans aged 70 or older, according to Today. Under the arrangement, the scheme goes until the resident is 90 years old or under the homeowner dies. It did “not quite take off,” but Khaw said it is time to revisit the option now with a better understanding of retiree preferences based on other similar programs.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
