Toa Payoh is a Super-Aged Town: Will be Singapore’s first ‘Age Well Neighbourhood’

If you didn’t catch Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, 2025, one of the main highlights was the “Age Well Neighbourhood”.

Singapore’s rolling out something new called Age Well Neighbourhoods (the existing programme is called Age Well SG), which is a brilliant idea to help older folks who want to stay in their own homes as they get older. They’re kicking things off in Toa Payoh since it’s got a big senior population.

This scheme takes all the best bits from those Community Care Apartments—you know, the accessible meeting points, home help, and easy access to healthcare—and brings them right to people’s doorsteps.

Ultimately, it’s all about making sure seniors can age gracefully and still be a part of their local community. They’ll be offering things like minor home repairs, health check-ups, and social clubs to help them stay connected and avoid feeling isolated.

Toa Payoh Age Well Neighbourhood

The very first of these special neighbourhoods is going to be in Toa Payoh—one of Singapore’s oldest towns—as well as a few other spots with a lot of older people.

PM Wong pointed out that even though a lot of seniors live with their kids or a carer, more and more are living by themselves. He mentioned that this is just a sign of how Singapore’s population is changing, with more single people and couples who don’t have children. Even for those with kids, families are simply getting smaller these days.

“Nearly one-quarter of residents in Toa Payoh are 65 and above – it is already a super-aged town,” says PM Wong in his speech.

There are currently 13 active ageing centres in Toa Payoh. These active ageing centres offer the elderly the option to participate in hobby activities and exercises.

Inspired by Community Care Apartments

PM Wong mentioned that while Community Care Apartments (CCAs)—which were a joint project by the ministries of National Development and Health—are a great way to deal with long-term care and housing for seniors, they’re not the be-all and end-all solution for older people who want to stay put. He added that, for one thing, there’s a limit to how many of those flats they can actually build.

“But we can take the essential elements from the CCA and apply the same thinking to the wider neighbourhood – to build Age Well Neighbourhoods that support our seniors where they are,” PM Wong added.

Home-based emergency medical response, showering, repairs, healthcare, housekeeping, laundry, feeding, and meal delivery services will also be made available.

What are Community Care Apartments?

Community Care Apartments (CCAs) are a type of public housing in Singapore designed for seniors aged 65 and above. The apartments integrate senior-friendly features and communal spaces with essential care and social services, allowing residents to age independently within a community setting.

These apartments are smaller than typical flats and come with a flexible lease period of 15 to 35 years, which must cover the youngest applicant until at least age 95. CCAs are fully furnished and equipped with senior-friendly features like wheelchair-accessible bathrooms and grab bars.

The concept for Community Care Apartments was developed and launched by a joint effort of three government bodies: the Ministry of National Development (MND), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Housing & Development Board (HDB).

The first CCAs were announced in December 2020 and launched for sale in February 2021 at Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok as a pilot project. Following the success of this pilot, more CCA sites have been launched in other locations - namely Queensway Canopy, and Chai Chee Green in Bedok.