Call for collective support of seniors in Singapore's ageing society

More volunteers are needed in the face of Singapore's rapidly ageing population, and they will mostly come from institutes of higher learning, corporations and the community, including younger seniors who are willing and able to engage their peers.

- Chin Soo Fang

More volunteers are needed in the face of Singapore's rapidly ageing population, and they will mostly come from institutes of higher learning, corporations and the community, including younger seniors who are willing and able to engage their peers.

The volunteers are needed for home visits and to befriend the elderly, and support the organising and facilitating of activities at active ageing centres (AACS).

Dr Sng Hock Lin, chief of the Silver Generation Office (SGO), gave these insights, and said the number of his volunteers, or Silver Generation Ambassadors (SGAs), has grown to more than 5,000 today.

"Since the set-up of the Pioneer Generation Office 10 years ago, we have collectively completed 2.7 million engagements with seniors in the community," he told The Straits Times in an exclusive interview at his office in the MND Complex on Sept 18, ahead of SGO's 10th anniversary celebrations on Oct 12.

SGO was formerly the Pioneer Generation Office, established 10 years ago to reach out to pioneers on the Pioneer Generation Package. It became SGO in 2018, the outreach arm of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), and expanded its scope to support all seniors aged 60 and above on their ageing needs.

The volunteer pool has to keep growing, as one in four citizens here will be aged 65 and above by 2030, and many will be living alone.

In 2023, SGO partnered the Singapore University of Social Sciences and the National University of Singapore, as well as the polytechnics, to equip their students to be SGAS.