Dementia Care Options in Singapore: A Practical Guide for Families

Dementia care options in Singapore fall into five main categories: Home care with a dementia trained caregiver, dementia day care centres, nursing homes, respite care, and hiring a migrant domestic worker. Most families end up combining two or more, then adjusting the mix as needs change.

If you have recently had a diagnosis in the family, the number of decisions in front of you can feel overwhelming. This guide walks through each option, what it costs, what financial support you can claim, and how to work out which combination fits your situation right now.

Start with the level of care your loved one actually needs

Dementia is progressive, so the right care today may not be the right care in a year. Rather than choosing by diagnosis, it helps to choose by how much daily support the person needs.

• Mild: independent in most areas, but forgetful with appointments, medication and finances. Needs prompting and companionship rather than hands-on help.
• Moderate: Needs help with several activities of daily living, may wander or become confused in unfamiliar places, and should not be left alone for long periods.
• Advanced: Needs help with most or all daily activities, may have swallowing or mobility difficulties, and often needs clinical supervision.

The five main dementia care options in Singapore

Here is how the options compare at a glance. Figures are indicative and change over time, so treat them as a planning starting point rather than a quote.

1. Home care with a dementia trained caregiver

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For many families this is the first step, and often the one they stay with longest. A trained caregiver or nurse comes to the home for anything from a single hour to round-the-clock shifts.

Because the person stays in familiar surroundings, there is no disorientation from a new environment, which matters more with dementia than with almost any other condition.

Home care can cover personal hygiene, meal preparation, medication reminders, cognitive engagement activities and safe transfers.

It is also the most adjustable option. You can begin with a few hours a week while a family member or helper covers the rest, then scale up as needs grow. Families who only need cover during working hours or on specific days often start with a part-time caregiver arrangement.

2. Dementia day care centres

Dementia day care centres run structured weekday programmes designed around cognitive stimulation: Reminiscence therapy, music and art activities, gentle exercise and supervised social interaction.

Your loved one is collected or dropped off in the morning and returns home in the evening.

This suits families where the primary caregiver works full time, and it gives the person with dementia a routine and a social circle that home care alone cannot replicate.

You can find dementia day care centres near you via the AIC website.

3. Nursing homes with dementia care

When a person needs clinical supervision through the night, has significant mobility or swallowing difficulties, or has behaviours that cannot be safely managed at home, a nursing home becomes the appropriate option.

Nursing home fees in Singapore are commonly quoted between $2,000 and $4,500 a month before subsidies at voluntary welfare organisation homes, with private facilities higher, and dementia-specific wards carrying a premium over standard rates due to the extra staffing involved.

Subsidised admissions are coordinated through the Agency for Integrated Care rather than booked directly, and popular homes carry waiting lists, so it is sensible to start the conversation before it becomes urgent.

4. Respite care

Respite care is short-term cover so the primary caregiver can rest, travel, recover from illness, or simply have a weekend back. It can be arranged at home, at a day centre, or as a short residential stay.

Nursing homes also offer night respite specifically for caregivers of people who experience sundowning, the late afternoon and evening confusion that makes nights especially hard. Respite care is best understood as burnout prevention rather than as a sign that you are not coping.

5. Hiring a migrant domestic worker

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Hiring a helper is the most common arrangement in Singapore and has the lowest monthly outlay once salary, the concessionary levy and living costs are counted. It gives you a constant presence in the home, which is valuable when wandering or falls are a concern.

It is worth being clear-eyed about the limits. A domestic helper is not a trained dementia caregiver or a nurse. She cannot manage clinical needs, and dementia specific behaviours are demanding to handle without training.

Many families get the best result by pairing a helper with subsidised caregiver training and topping up with professional visits for the clinical or specialist parts of care.

How much does dementia care cost in Singapore?

Dementia care in Singapore ranges based on your loved one’s needs.

Home care scales with hours: Home care visits run from around $92 per visit (4 hours at $23/hour), so 1 to 3 visits a week works out to roughly $368 to $1,104 a month before subsidies. A live-in professional caregiver for advanced dementia sits at around $4,000 a month.

Dementia day care is more predictable at $50 to $150 a day, or about $945 to $1,430 monthly at daily weekday attendance.

A nursing home is the largest committed cost: roughly $2,500 to $4,500 a month gross at a VWO home, with dementia wards adding 20 to 40% for specialised staffing.

It is also the most subsidised: ILTC subsidies can bring eligible citizens’ fees down to $1,200 to $2,800 a month.

A foreign domestic helper looks cheapest at $1,500 to $1,800 a month in a hybrid setup with day care, but rarely suffices alone once dementia advances.

Subsidies, grants and financial support

Singapore has a reasonably generous set of schemes, and several were enhanced in 2026. These are the ones most relevant to dementia care.

Home Caregiving Grant

The Home Caregiving Grant is a monthly cash payout that can be used for home care services, hiring a helper or buying care items.

From April 2026, the maximum payout rose to $600 a month, up from $400, and the per capita household income ceiling rose from $3,600 to $4,800, which brings more families into eligibility.

The care recipient must permanently need help with at least three of the six activities of daily living, and must not be living in a residential long-term care institution.

You can read the eligibility detail on our Home Caregiving Grant page.

Long-term care subsidies

Means tested subsidies apply to both residential and non-residential long-term care. Singapore Citizens born in and before 1969 receive enhanced subsidies of up to 80 per cent for residential services such as nursing homes, and up to 95 per cent for non-residential services such as day care and home-based care. Your subsidy tier is assessed through the National Means Testing System.

Caregivers Training Grant

The Caregivers Training Grant makes approved caregiving courses more affordable, and it covers family members and domestic helpers alike.

Eligible care recipients start with a balance of $400, topped up by $200 each April, with the total capped at $400. If you are relying on a helper for day-to-day dementia care, this is one of the highest value schemes available to you.

Other schemes worth checking

• MediSave Care, which allows monthly withdrawals for severe disability.
• CareShield Life and ElderShield payouts, if the person is insured and assessed as severely disabled.
• MediFund, for citizens who still face difficulty after all other assistance.

Amounts and criteria are revised periodically, so confirm the current position with the Agency for Integrated Care before you budget.

How to choose the right option

Five questions usually settle it faster than comparing brochures.

• How much supervision does the person need, and at what times of day? Night needs point towards live-in help or residential care.
• What are your household working hours? Full-time work with no one at home during the day points towards day care or scheduled home visits.
• Is the home safe? Stairs, an unsecured door or a hazardous kitchen may need modification before home care is workable.
• What is your budget after subsidies, not before?
• How does your loved one respond to unfamiliar environments? Some settle well into a day centre routine. Others become distressed, which makes home-based care the kinder choice.

There is no single right answer, and the answer changes over time. Reviewing the arrangement every few months is normal and sensible.

How to arrange care: the practical steps

• Get a Functional Assessment Report from a doctor, registered nurse or therapist. This documents the activities of daily living your loved one needs help with and unlocks most subsidy applications.
• Contact the Agency for Integrated Care, either through the AIC hotline, an AIC Link branch, or the online Care Services Recommender, to be pointed towards suitable services.
• Complete means testing so your subsidy tier is confirmed before you commit to a provider.
• Arrange a trial. A short trial of a day centre or a few home care sessions tells you more than any comparison table can.
• Review the arrangement as the condition progresses.

Looking after yourself as a caregiver

Caregiver burnout is not a side issue in dementia care. It is one of the main reasons that home arrangements break down suddenly and families end up making rushed decisions under pressure.

Building regular respite into the schedule from the start, rather than waiting until you are exhausted, is the single most protective thing most caregivers can do.

Frequently asked questions

Getting started

Choosing dementia care is rarely a single decision. It is a series of adjustments as needs change, and you do not have to work it out alone. Homage provides dementia care at home through trained Care Professionals, from a single hour of companionship through to round-the-clock support, and our Care Advisors can talk you through which schemes you are likely to qualify for.

Explore our full range of elderly care services or speak to us about a care plan built around your family.

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