Low-wage officers to be awarded $750/year in Medishield contributions

This is starting January 2015.

The Public Service Division announced on Friday that public servants on Medisave Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) schemes will receive double their current benefits, while lower-income public servants will receive a minimum additional contribution of $50 a month.

The additional contribution will apply to all public officers who earn less than $2,500 as these workers are deemed low-wage by the government. This contribution will amount to $750/year.

Here’s more from the Public Service Division:

The January 2015 increase will raise the civil service employer’s additional contribution from 1% of the monthly salary to 2%. This contribution goes into their Medisave account and can be used to buy MediShield or portable Medisave-approved insurance plans to cover their inpatient needs. Almost all the officers on the MSO scheme now buy such MediShield or Medisave approved insurance plans.

In reviewing the MSO scheme, special consideration has been given for the low- wage officers. In support of the National Wages Council’s recommendation to boost low-wage employees’ ability to pay for MediShield Life premiums, these officers will receive more help. Civil servants earning $2,500[2] and below, will receive a minimum additional Medisave contribution of $50 a month (or about $750[3] a year). This is effectively more than 2% additional Medisave contributions. Please see attached factsheet for a worked example to illustrate what an officer earning $1,600 will get.

About 85% of the 82,000 civil servants are on the MSO scheme, and 15% are on the older Comprehensive Co-payment scheme (CCS). Civil servants on the CCS will get an additional 1% civil service employer Medisave contribution when MediShield Life starts. This will help defray premium costs. All officers will be informed on how the changes affect them.