You may have come across a Facebook post by Ms Emily Boo (also known on Facebook as "Ms Yukimi Wu") lamenting that her father, Mr Boo Meng Hock, who has been missing for 23 years, continued to have his MediShield Life premiums deducted.
We empathise with Ms Boo and the situation that her family is facing. Our record shows that neither Ms Boo nor any of Mr Boo's family members have approached the CPF Board (CPFB) for assistance on the continued premium deduction. We have reached out to Ms Boo to explain the steps to declare her father as deceased.
In line with industry practice, CPFB treats an individual as being alive until the person has been registered as deceased with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). To register an individual who is missing as deceased, ICA requires the next-of-kin to first apply for a court order on the presumption of death, before approaching ICA for the death registration. Members who require financial assistance can approach the Legal Aid Bureau.
Regardless of whether the death certificate has been obtained, we note that in the past 23 years, Mr Boo received Pioneer Generation, GST Voucher and other government MediSave top-ups amounting to $7,000. Mr Boo also received GST Voucher and SG Bonus in cash totalling $4,600. Together with other government assistance schemes like GST credits (2007-2010), Growth Dividends (2008-2010), and the Grow and Share Package 2011, Mr Boo had received a total of about $15,000 in cash and CPF because he was deemed to be alive. This is more than the cumulative MediShield Life premium deductions of about $7,300.
We urge Ms Boo to obtain the court order and submit it to ICA as soon as possible.