Latest news with #SSAs
Business Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Business Times
Income Insurance, NCSS launch S$10 million grant to support caregivers
[SINGAPORE] Janet Yeo was a caregiver to her mum, who had dementia, and faced a double whammy when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. That was the breaking point, as she had to care for both of them, said the partner at an interior architectural firm. 'Caregiving is tiring and difficult, as there is the emotional attachment as well to the patients.' To give caregivers more support, Income Insurance and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Friday (Jul 25) to launch the Income OrangeAid Caregiver Support Accelerator Grant. The grant is worth S$10 million and is part of Income Insurance's commitment to invest S$100 million in Singapore communities by 2030 via Income OrangeAid. The initiative will comprise two grant calls over five years from 2025, and will support up to 20 caregiver programmes run by SSAs. Each grant call will fund up to 10 programmes, with up to S$200,000 per programme in the first two years and S$100,000 in the third year. Giving a boost The move is to uplift the capabilities of the social service agencies (SSAs) ecosystem, said Tan Li San, CEO of NCSS. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up 'Firstly, it will foster innovation by guiding SSAs to employ design-thinking methodologies, enabling SSAs to develop creative and impactful solutions for caregivers. This approach will help SSAs enhance their existing services with targeted support in crucial areas such as psychological well-being and financial adequacy. 'Secondly, it will build a sustainable ecosystem by providing SSAs with multi-year support to develop and implement holistic caregiver support programmes, while requiring SSAs to demonstrate how their initiatives will continue beyond the funding period. This emphasis on sustainability ensures that the support systems we build today will continue to benefit caregivers in the long term.' NCSS' 2024 Quality of Life Study revealed that caregivers in Singapore report a lower quality of life compared with non-caregivers across the physical, social relationships and environment domains. Andrew Yeo, CEO of Income Insurance, said: 'We recognise that the SSAs are the primary touchpoints for caregivers in Singapore. By partnering NCSS, which channels resources to SSAs in Singapore, we are coupling deep sector expertise with strong financial support to uplift the SSA ecosystem to develop targeted support for caregivers to improve their quality of life, especially in the areas of physical, mental and financial well-being.' Tan Li San (left), CEO of NCSS, and Andrew Yeo, CEO of Income Insurance at the MOU signing ceremony. PHOTO: INCOME INSURANCE Shannen Fong, vice-president and head of strategic communications and sustainability at Income Insurance, concurred, adding: 'Caregiving in Asia is linked to filial piety, and some may not even know they are caregivers.' Singapore society is projected to become super-aged by 2026, and by 2030, one in four people in Singapore will be aged 65 and above. Yeo of Income Insurance said: 'This means that caregivers, who are often the spouses and close relatives of an aged person, are likely seniors themselves, and may also be facing health or other related challenges that are compounding this urgency for support.' The initiative, which he described as 'groundbreaking', is built on a more sustainable public-private partnership model. 'Our support can go a longer way in bringing about a multiplier effect as more SSAs can stand to benefit and be empowered to support more caregivers over the long term,' he added. 'To unlock the annual seed funding, grantees must demonstrate tangible outcomes, programme scalability and impact, as well as financial sustainability of the programme.' The CEO of Income Insurance added that the last point is critical given that funding in the third year will be stepped down to ensure that grantee programmes are in a good place to thrive beyond the grant period. Janet Yeo agreed that such initiatives are helpful as they fill a gap. She herself benefited from caregiver education by the Mindfull Community – formerly known as Caregivers Alliance Limited – which 'equipped me with knowledge, coping skills, self-care strategies'.
The Print
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Print
India may soon have social security agreement with UK under free trade pact
'UK is believed to have agreed on the social security component under the FTA negotiations, which would be ratified in the near future,' the source said. The source said that from now onwards, the social security agreement (SSA) will be an in-built component of all free trade agreements to be negotiated in future. New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI) India may soon have a social security pact with the UK as an in-built component of the free trade agreement (FTA) which has been finalised between the two countries, a source said on Wednesday. The SSA, a reciprocal arrangement between two or more countries, ensures that an employee while on a foreign assignment does not have to contribute to the social security coverage fund in that country but get the full benefit of employment period for pension calculation, while the employers are saved from making double social security contributions on behalf of their workers. The Indian employees posted abroad or on foreign assignment are required to obtain a certificate of coverage (CoC) from retirement fund body EPFO, which helps them avoid paying social security contribution in countries where they are posted. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has been authorised to issue the Certificate of Coverage to employees posted in nations that have signed an agreement with India. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters here that he has requested the commerce ministry to include the SSA in all FTA negotiations in future. He said, 'We are doing so to promote social security for all.' At present, India has SSAs with 22 countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Brazil. The citizen of all 22 nations with which India has inked SSAs get the same benefit if they are posted in India. PTI KKS HVA This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
United News of India
11-06-2025
- Business
- United News of India
India's social security coverage at 64%, gets ILO pat
New Delhi, June 11 (UNI) India's social security coverage has surged from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025, a 45-percentage point increase, the Government said on Wednesday. 'This progress has earned official recognition from the International Labour Organization (ILO), which now ranks India second globally in terms of the number of beneficiaries,' as per a statement from the Union Labour and Employment Ministry here. Approximately 94 crore (940 million) citizens are now covered by at least one social protection benefit, according to the statement. India has also become the first nation to update its 2025 social protection data on the ILOSTAT database, underscoring its commitment to transparency and digital governance. This is expected to strengthen India's position in global negotiations, including social security agreements (SSAs) with developed nations, ensuring Indian professionals can access benefits while working abroad. In a bilateral discussion with ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo at the 110th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Union Minister of Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted the government's pro-poor and labour welfare initiatives. 'Our 'Antyodaya' approach, focusing on empowering the last mile, has been central to this success,' Mandaviya said. 'This achievement is a testament to our commitment to leaving no one behind. This surge is largely attributed to the expansion of central sector and women-centric welfare programs,' said the statement. While the current 64.3% coverage represents Phase I of the data pooling exercise, India's social protection coverage is expected to exceed 100 crore citizens as Phase II progresses, adding data from more schemes across the country. 'The expansion of social protection will enhance India's standing in labour mobility and trade talks, fostering mutual recognition frameworks with partner countries,' Mandaviya added.
