Money Talks Podcast: The heavy costs of being a caregiver in Singapore
Reach out to social workers or organisations such as the Agency for Integrated Care as they can help you tap on the existing caregiving grants.
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Whether it is taking care of your parents, grandparents or a relative with needs, caregivers have been deemed the "invisible workforce". What are some of the hidden financial and non-financial costs that come with the role?
In this week’s Money Talks, Nabila Hanim shares with Andrea Heng how she manages being the primary caregiver for her ailing grandmother.
Here's an excerpt from the conversation:Â Â
Andrea Heng:Â
Earlier you talked about some of the financial support that's available to you as a caregiver, be it palliative care or any other kind of care. Was there anything that you wish had been subsidised or covered by Medisave?Â
Nabila Hanim:Â
I personally feel the helper fees can be quite heavy.
When you first get the helper there's actually an upfront cost that not many people are aware of (which can easily go up) to ... S$4,000. And I always wonder, for people who can't afford that amount, what do they do?
Do they just suck it up and then leave their jobs? How do you cope with that?
When my grandma was still mobile and we were still sending her for polyclinic checkups, I was amazed at the kind of caregivers that I was seeing. I was seeing university students, poly students.
And I think the most heartbreaking was the elderly taking care of the elderly. It's really going to be quite common. I saw a 70-year-old pushing a 90-year-old in the wheelchair. And I always wonder for families who cannot afford a helper. What else can we do?Â
