The three-year OCBC SeniorCare programme will benefit more than 180,000 seniors across four essential pillars: Health, Wealth, Literacy and Lifestyle.

Singapore, 29 March 2025 – OCBC has launched the OCBC SeniorCare programme (华侨银行乐龄关怀计划), committing over S$2 million to benefit more than 180,000 seniors aged 60 and above over three years. Covering four essential pillars – Health, Wealth, Literacy and Lifestyle – the programme seeks to empower seniors to age well. The timing of this launch is particularly significant as Singapore is on track to become a "super aged" society by 2026. This means that the proportion of the population aged 65 and older is anticipated to reach 21%. This figure is expected to rise to 1 in 4 by 2030.

As Singapore’s oldest bank and a banker to the wider community, OCBC SeniorCare’s initiatives are developed for senior OCBC customers, vulnerable seniors and senior members of the public.

OCBC SeniorCare was launched by Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health, on 29 March 2025 at Bukit Canberra, an integrated sports and community hub in Sembawang. Almost 1,000 seniors were in attendance to celebrate the launch. Together with OCBC volunteers, they participated in a senior-friendly mass workout, played carnival games that improve cognitive thinking and motor skills, and learnt more about digital banking and scams at interactive booths.

Ms Helen Wong, Group Chief Executive Officer of OCBC said, “The global population is aging. The number of people aged 60 and older worldwide is projected to increase from 1.1 billion in 2023 to 1.4 billion by 2030. This trend is particularly evident in developing regions. By next year, Singapore will likely become ‘super aged’. OCBC is hence committing more than S$2 million to the OCBC SeniorCare programme over three years. In total, over 180,000 seniors will benefit from our programme. We hope it will bring big impact. We made sure that the initiatives under the 4 pillars of the programme are very practical – based on data and first-hand knowledge and experiences from our front-line staff.

Throughout OCBC’s history, we have sought to enable people and communities to realise their aspirations. This purpose is the driving force of the programme. But we cannot do it alone. Our strength lies also in our ability to bring diverse partners together. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all of them for making this programme possible.”

Data and insights-driven initiatives

OCBC SeniorCare’s initiatives are pragmatic solutions to the most pressing needs of seniors. These were gleaned from OCBC’s data as well as feedback from branch staff and charity partners who interact daily with seniors from all walks of life. Initiatives will be progressively announced throughout the programme’s duration. Some of the key initiatives under each pillar are as follows.

Pillar 1: Health

Based on an analysis of OCBC customers’ spending patterns, partners have been and will continue to be identified under the health and lifestyle pillar. Raffles Medical Group and Q&M Dental Group for instance, will provide senior OCBC customers with member rates on selected services. Leveraging the capabilities of the wider OCBC Group, senior OCBC customers will also enjoy discounts on the premiums of certain Great Eastern bancassurance products.

Mental well-being is equally important. The Institute of Mental Health reported a 4.4% prevalence of depression in 2023 among the elderly in Singapore, particularly the vulnerable seniors, alongside rising concerns of social isolation and cognitive decline.

In collaboration with Care Corner Singapore, OCBC will be funding gerontological counselling sessions in the homes of seniors from underprivileged backgrounds. This will be Singapore’s first corporate-backed home-based counselling initiative. Through this initiative, vulnerable seniors will have convenient access to eldercare-trained counsellors who can help them navigate their personal, social and psychological challenges.

OCBC will continue to support "Care Corner ElderConnect supported by OCBC," an initiative launched in November 2023, which focuses on reducing social isolation amongst seniors. OCBC volunteers have been actively engaging seniors living in Woodlands and Marsiling, going door-to-door to encourage them to participate in exercise programmes, crafting workshops and games at Active Ageing Centres. These activities are specially curated to improve their cognitive thinking and motor skills, and keep them socially connected with the community.

Pillar 2: Wealth

OCBC CARE Ambassadors – newly-created dialect-speaking roles at branches

Seniors make up a majority of the footfall at our branches and OCBC branch staff have observed that family members sometimes accompany them due to language barriers, as some seniors communicate mostly in dialect.

In response to this, the role of “OCBC CARE Ambassador” (华侨银行乐龄关怀大使) has been created, with 10 having been hired so far. They have been stationed across 5 OCBC branches that are popular with seniors – Ang Mo Kio Central, Jurong Point, NEX, Tampines and Toa Payoh Central. All OCBC CARE Ambassadors are fluent in at least two dialects including Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese and Hakka. In the hiring process, they were also assessed based on their general ability to understand and connect with seniors; unsurprisingly then, their average age is 65 years old. 9 of them were ex-OCBC staff who had come back from retirement to assist their fellow seniors.

Special senior rates for time deposits and savings accounts

Under OCBC SeniorCare, special rates for seniors and other promotions will be introduced consistently over the programme’s three-year period. For a start, a special time deposit and savings account promotion will be launched. These products were chosen as they are low risk, which matches seniors’ risk appetites. Time deposits for instance, are one of the most popular products among seniors – around 50% of OCBC time deposit accounts are held by those 60 years old and above.

The special savings account promotional rate for seniors will apply to accounts like the OCBC Passbook Savings Account and Statement Savings Account. These accounts are overwhelmingly held by seniors. 70% of our customers aged 60 years and above have either an OCBC Passbook Savings Account or Statement Savings Account.

Pillar 3: Literacy

Continued education for seniors on digital banking and scams

More help can be extended to seniors to encourage them to use digital banking. Currently, less than 50% of OCBC customers who are 60 years old and above use digital banking regularly.

Since 2022, we have conducted OCBC Digital Silvers workshops, reaching about 12,000 seniors with vital information on how to bank digitally while staying safe from scams. These workshops have been highly successful due to its interactive nature, and the emphasis on having OCBC volunteers on hand who are able to speak in different languages and dialects. These workshops will continue under the OCBC SeniorCare programme and are open to the public. OCBC will also enhance its efforts with a regular series of talks to educate seniors about CPF – an essential topic for this segment.

Pillar 4: Lifestyle

OCBC will leverage its network of merchants and other partners to roll out special senior deals for OCBC senior customers. For a start, all OCBC senior customers will be able to get a voucher booklet from the 5 OCBC branches with OCBC CARE Ambassadors – Ang Mo Kio Central, Jurong Point, NEX, Tampines and Toa Payoh Central from 3 April 2025. The vouchers can be used at participating merchants like Eu Yan Sang, Sheng Siong, Soup Restaurant, Swensen’s and Watsons.

In addition, Fei Siong Group will be coming on board as one of OCBC’s anchor partners. This means that seniors will enjoy offers at Fei Siong Group’s well-loved brands like EAT, Malaysia Boleh, Encik Tan, and many more – details will be announced soon. Other anchor partners will also be progressively announced.

Please refer to the Appendix and visit go.ocbc.com/seniorcare for detailed information on OCBC SeniorCare’s initiatives.