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When it comes to insurance, many women share a familiar frustration: We do our best to live healthily, but the higher premiums we pay for certain insurance make us feel like we have manoeuvred ourselves into a corner.<\/span><\/p>\n The recent debate over <\/span>CareShield Life premiums<\/span> is a prime example. Looking at the comments on social media, many Singaporean women clearly felt they had been dealt the short end of the stick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n CareShield Life is Singapore\u2019s mandatory long-term care insurance scheme that gives lifetime monthly payouts to Singaporeans who become severely disabled and require assistance with daily living. It aims to offer basic financial protection against the high costs of long-term care, with premiums paid during working years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Payouts are triggered when you are assessed as severely disabled (unable to perform three or more activities of daily living). At age 30, before subsidies, a woman pays approximately S$264 in annual premiums compared with a man’s approximate premium of S$223.<\/span><\/p>\n This is where things can get heated. When CNA Women spoke with Larissa Tiang, a 45-year-old secondary school teacher, she did not hold back in expressing her displeasure at how CareShield Life is priced for women. \u201cJust because women have a longer life expectancy in general doesn\u2019t necessarily mean we should pay higher premiums,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Tiang felt that since women get lower starting salaries than men (due to National Service being recognised by many employers as \u201cwork-adjacent experience\u201d) and are generally paid less for doing the same jobs, paying more for CareShield Life premiums is adding insult to injury.<\/span><\/p>\n Vanessa Chew, a 50-year-old wedding planner, agreed: \u201cIf we can level the playing field when it comes to starting salaries for men because of NS, why can\u2019t the government try to even out the healthcare costs for women in our old age?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n