The MINDEF group insurance scheme, officially known as the MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance, provides life, disability and personal injury protection for eligible servicemen, Home Team personnel and related members. The scheme has two layers. The Core Scheme provides automatic subsidised protection, while the Voluntary Scheme allows eligible members to buy additional Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury cover, plus optional riders.
This guide covers the scheme, Living Care and Living Care Plus critical illness riders, 2026 premiums and how MINDEF group insurance compares with individual term life insurance.
Key takeaways
- The Core Scheme automatically provides eligible members with S$350,000 each of Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury cover from 1 November 2025.
- The Voluntary Scheme allows eligible members to increase protection to as much as S$1,000,000 and add optional riders.
- Voluntary Group Term Life costs S$2.50 a month per S$100,000 of cover up to age 65 next birthday.
- Group Term Life premiums increase substantially during the renewal years from age 66 to 70 next birthday.
- Group Term Life can continue after eligible members leave service or complete their Operationally Ready National Service obligations, with cover available up to age 70 next birthday.
- Living Care provides severe-stage critical illness cover, while Living Care Plus adds early-stage critical illness cover.
- MINDEF Group Term Life can provide affordable base protection, while an individual term life policy may offer greater flexibility and longer-term premium certainty.
What is the MINDEF & SAF group insurance scheme?
The MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance has protected Singapore’s servicemen since 1983. Singlife underwrites and administers the scheme. Singapore Life and Aviva Singapore merged in 2022, and the company adopted the single Singlife brand from January 2023.
The scheme is divided into two layers:
- Core Scheme provides automatic subsidised baseline cover. From 1 November 2025, it provides S$350,000 each for Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury.
- Voluntary Scheme provides optional additional cover paid for by the member. Protection can be increased to as much as S$1,000,000, with options to add riders and insure eligible family members.
The Voluntary Scheme gives members a way to increase their protection beyond the automatic Core Scheme and add benefits that fit their needs.
The table below summarises the key differences between the Core Scheme and Voluntary Scheme, including who pays for the cover, medical underwriting requirements and when the coverage applies. It also shows how the automatic S$350,000 Core Scheme differs from optional additional cover under the Voluntary Scheme.
| Feature | Core Scheme (S$350,000 each for Group Term Life & Group Personal Injury) | Voluntary Scheme (up to S$1,000,000) |
| What is it? | Free base cover from MINDEF / MHA, underwritten by Singlife | An optional top-up you buy for more cover |
| Who pays? | 100% free, MINDEF / MHA pay for it | You pay the subsidised monthly premiums |
| Medical underwriting | None. Full S$350,000 given automatically, even with pre-existing conditions | Group Term Life: No medical checks up to S$300,000. Above that, medical checks apply. Cover taken without checks excludes pre-existing conditions for the first 12 months Group Personal Injury: No medical checks at any level. Pre-existing conditions are covered |
| When does it apply? | While you’re serving Ends when you finish NS, your ORNS cycle or volunteer service, or leave MINDEF / MHA | 24/7, even outside NS duties Continues after you leave service as long as you pay premiums (up to age 70 ANB) |
Who is eligible for MINDEF & SAF group insurance?
The scheme also covers groups beyond SAF regulars. MINDEF, MHA and related organisations may extend access to several affiliated groups.
Eligible members include:
- Full-time National Servicemen, or NSFs
- Operationally Ready National Servicemen, or NSmen, while they remain active NSmen. NS liability runs to age 40 for non-officers and age 50 for officers.
- Regular servicemen working full-time, part-time or on contract across MINDEF and SAF, including Defence Executive Officers
- Eligible personnel from the Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Prison Service, Central Narcotics Bureau and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
- Public officers working with MINDEF and MHA
- Volunteers from the SAF Volunteer Corps, NS Volunteers, ROVERS, SPF Volunteer Special Constabulary and SCDF Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit
- Affiliate members, including employees of organisations such as DSTA, HTX, the Casino Regulatory Authority and Yellow Ribbon Singapore
Members may also cover their dependants, including a legal spouse and biological or legally adopted children. Cover for a child ends at age 45 next birthday or when the child marries, whichever comes first.
What is covered under MINDEF & SAF group insurance?
The scheme combines Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury protection with optional riders. Rider benefits do not reduce the Group Term Life or Group Personal Injury cover because the benefits stack.
Group Term Life
Group Term Life provides life and disability protection under the scheme, along with hospital and terminal illness benefits.
Its main benefits include:
- 100% of the sum insured on death or total and permanent disability
- Cover from S$10,000 to S$1,000,000 in multiples of S$10,000
- An advance payment of 100% of the sum insured, capped at S$400,000, following diagnosis of a terminal illness
- Daily hospital cash of S$30 a day from the 11th day of hospitalisation, for up to 30 days
- 24-hour worldwide cover
Group Personal Injury
Group Personal Injury covers accidental injuries and disability separately from Group Term Life.
Its main benefits include:
- 150% of the cover amount for total and permanent disability caused by an accident
- 24-hour worldwide cover
- Reimbursement of ambulance costs
- Up to S$1,000,000 of protection at around S$0.17 a day
Optional riders
Optional riders extend the core protection to critical illness, disability income and eligible outpatient medical expenses.
Available riders include:
- Living Care provides critical illness cover for 37 severe-stage conditions, with cover of up to S$500,000.
- Living Care Plus adds protection for 10 early-stage critical illnesses, with cover of up to S$500,000 if applied for before age 56 next birthday, or up to S$200,000 if applied for at age 56 next birthday or above.
- Disability Income provides a monthly payout if the insured becomes disabled.
- Outpatient Medicare provides cover for eligible outpatient medical expenses for family members.
Read more: What Is a Rider in Insurance and Should You Add One?
MINDEF Group Term Life coverage, limits and portability
Group Term Life is the main life protection component of the Voluntary Scheme. Its relatively low premiums, simplified access to initial cover and portability distinguish it from many employer-based group insurance arrangements.
Eligible cover of up to S$300,000 without underwriting
Eligible members can obtain up to S$300,000 in Group Term Life cover without a medical check-up or underwriting if they meet the relevant conditions.
If you received a PES A, PES B or equivalent medical grading at enlistment or employment and apply within the first 30 days, we can issue your cover without requiring you to answer health questions. This can be useful for members who might otherwise face additional medical underwriting when applying for individual insurance.
Group Term Life can continue after you leave service
Group Term Life does not necessarily end when you leave MINDEF or MHA employment or complete your service obligations. Eligible members can keep their cover after certain changes in service status.
Cover can continue after you:
- Retire or leave MINDEF or MHA employment
- Are released from NS liability
- Complete your ORNS training cycle
- Leave volunteer service
The cover can continue up to age 70 next birthday. A spouse can also continue the policy if the insured member dies.
The maximum entry age is 65 next birthday. Cover automatically renews each policy year until age 70 next birthday. Children leave the scheme at age 45 next birthday or upon marriage. After a divorce, a former spouse is no longer eligible and Singlife must be notified so the cover can be terminated.
How much does MINDEF Group Insurance Group Term Life cost in 2026?
Group Term Life has a level death-cover premium up to age 65 next birthday. A 25-year-old and a 60-year-old therefore pay the same premium for the same amount of Group Term Life cover during this period.
Up to age 65 next birthday, the premium is S$2.50 a month for every S$100,000 of cover. S$1,000,000 of cover costs S$25 a month, or about S$0.83 a day. All premium figures in this article are base rates and exclude prevailing GST.
We measure age using age next birthday, or ANB. ANB refers to the age you will turn on your next birthday. For example, if you are 34 and have not yet reached your next birthday, we treat you as ANB 35 for pricing and eligibility.
Premiums rise during the renewal years from age 66 to 70 next birthday. Cover ends at age 70.
Monthly Group Term Life premiums in S$
The table below shows how monthly Group Term Life premiums change by coverage amount and ANB. The sharp increase after ANB 65 matters for members who plan to keep the cover into their late 60s.
| Cover | ≤ ANB 65 | ANB 66* | ANB 67* | ANB 68* | ANB 69* | ANB 70* |
| S$100,000 | 2.5 | 35.3 | 40.1 | 48.3 | 57.4 | 63.6 |
| S$200,000 | 5 | 70.6 | 80.2 | 96.6 | 114.8 | 127.2 |
| S$300,000 | 7.5 | 105.9 | 120.3 | 144.9 | 172.2 | 190.8 |
| S$400,000 | 10 | 141.2 | 160.4 | 193.2 | 229.6 | 254.4 |
| S$500,000 | 12.5 | 176.5 | 200.5 | 241.5 | 287 | 318 |
| S$600,000 | 15 | 211.8 | 240.6 | 289.8 | 344.4 | 381.6 |
| S$700,000 | 17.5 | 247.1 | 280.7 | 338.1 | 401.8 | 445.2 |
| S$800,000 | 20 | 282.4 | 320.8 | 386.4 | 459.2 | 508.8 |
| S$900,000 | 22.5 | 317.7 | 360.9 | 434.7 | 516.6 | 572.4 |
| S$1,000,000 | 25 | 353 | 401 | 483 | 574 | 636 |
*Renewal rates only for members reaching these ages. Figures accurate as at December 2025.
Source: MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance Voluntary Scheme – Group Term Life Product Summary
Group Term Life is particularly inexpensive up to age 65. A regular level-premium term policy may offer greater premium certainty when protection is needed for longer.
Read more: Best Term Life Insurance in Singapore
Critical illness cover with Living Care and Living Care Plus
Critical illness protection differs by rider. Living Care covers severe-stage critical illnesses and pays a lump sum of up to S$500,000 upon diagnosis of any of the 37 severe-stage critical illnesses covered under the LIA Standard Definitions Version 2024. Living Care Plus adds protection for 10 early-stage critical illnesses.
You can take up either rider only if you already hold Group Term Life or Group Personal Injury cover and are aged 65 next birthday or below. You cannot choose a rider sum insured that exceeds your Group Term Life or Group Personal Injury cover.
Unlike Group Term Life death cover, Living Care uses age-banded premiums. We revise the rates every 1 January based on your age next birthday, and your premiums increase as you move into older age bands. The increase becomes particularly significant from the 46 to 50 age band, so your age plays an important role in the long-term cost of cover.
Monthly Living Care critical illness premiums in S$
The table below shows how Living Care premiums increase across age bands. The same amount of severe-stage critical illness protection becomes more expensive as the insured person moves into older ANB bands.
| Age ANB | S$100,000 | S$200,000 | S$300,000 | S$500,000 |
| 1–20 | 2.2 | 4.4 | 6.6 | 11 |
| 21–25 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 7.8 | 13 |
| 26–30 | 3.7 | 7.4 | 11.1 | 18.5 |
| 31–35 | 5.4 | 10.8 | 16.2 | 27 |
| 36–40 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 45 |
| 41–45 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 45 |
| 46–50 | 24.8 | 49.6 | 74.4 | 124 |
| 51–55 | 37.8 | 75.6 | 113.4 | 189 |
| 56–60 | 52.2 | 104.4 | 156.6 | 261 |
| 61–65 | 72.7 | 145.4 | 218.1 | 363.5 |
| 66 | 94.5 | 189 | 283.5 | 472.5 |
| 67 | 105.8 | 211.6 | 317.4 | 529 |
| 68 | 118.4 | 236.8 | 355.2 | 592 |
| 69 | 132.5 | 265 | 397.5 | 662.5 |
| 70 | 148.5 | 297 | 445.5 | 742.5 |
Figures are accurate as at December 2025. Rates are revised each 1 January and are subject to change as negotiated with MINDEF and MHA. Premium rates exclude prevailing GST.
Source: MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance Voluntary Scheme – Living Care Product Summary
Living Care Plus is priced separately, with gender-based rates and a maximum cover of S$500,000 before age 56 next birthday or S$200,000 at age 56 next birthday and above.
Two claim conditions also apply to Living Care.
- A 90-day waiting period applies to the specified major cancer and cardiac conditions from policy inception.
- A 30-day survival period applies after diagnosis before a claim is admitted.
Living Care premiums cannot be paid using MediSave.
MINDEF & SAF Group Term Life vs regular term life
yle=”font-weight: 400;”>MINDEF Group Term Life and an individual term life policy both provide life insurance protection, but they are structured differently. MINDEF Group Term Life operates under a group arrangement, while a regular term life plan is an individual insurance contract.
For readers comparing group term life insurance in Singapore options with individual protection, the main differences are ownership, coverage duration, premiums, critical illness benefits, customisation and medical underwriting.
| Feature | MINDEF and SAF Group Term Life | Regular term life |
| Plan type | Group insurance | Individual insurance |
| Who it is for | Eligible MINDEF and MHA personnel and family | General public |
| Coverage amount | Up to S$1M | Around S$100K to S$2M+ |
| Cover ends | Age 70 ANB | Selected term, including options such as age 65 or 85 |
| Premiums | Flat to 65, then increase from 66 to 70 | Generally level for the selected term |
| Critical illness | 37 severe-stage CI and 10 early-stage CI through riders | May cover more conditions and stages |
| Customisation | Limited | High |
| Underwriting | None up to S$300K when eligibility conditions are met | Usually required |
| Portability | Can continue after leaving service | Independent of employer |
Read more: Term Life vs Whole Life Insurance: Which Should You Get?
Should you rely on MINDEF group insurance alone or top up?
Under MINDEF group insurance, Group Term Life can provide an affordable base layer of protection, but the amount and duration still need to match your financial responsibilities. If you need more cover, protection beyond age 70 or broader critical illness benefits, an individual term life or critical illness policy can supplement the group scheme.
When comparing group insurance Singapore coverage with personal insurance, consider the protection you already have alongside your dependants, debts, income replacement needs and preferred coverage period.
Read more: How Much Life Insurance Do I Need in Singapore?
The bottom line
MINDEF group insurance can be a cost-effective foundation for eligible members. Whether you need additional insurance depends on whether its coverage amount, benefits and duration are enough for your financial responsibilities.
If you want to see how individual term life cover could complement your MINDEF protection, compare term life plans on Planner Bee or request a personalised insurance quote based on your needs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my MINDEF insurance after ORD or leaving service?
Yes, cover can continue after you leave service, as set out above, up to age 70 next birthday.
How much does MINDEF Group Term Life cost?
Group Term Life death cover costs S$2.50 a month for every S$100,000 of cover up to age 65 next birthday. S$1,000,000 of cover costs S$25 a month, or about S$0.83 a day, before renewal rates increase from age 66 to 70.
How much life insurance do I need in Singapore?
The appropriate amount depends on your dependants, mortgage and income replacement needs. MINDEF Group Term Life provides up to S$1,000,000, but whether that is enough depends on your financial responsibilities and how long you need the cover.
Are my spouse and children covered?
Your legal spouse and biological or legally adopted children can be covered under the Voluntary Scheme at the same rates. Child cover ends at age 45 next birthday or upon marriage, whichever occurs first, while a spouse can continue the policy if the main insured dies.
Do I need a medical check-up?
A medical check-up is not required for eligible cover of up to S$300,000 if your medical grading is PES A, PES B or equivalent and you apply within 30 days of enlistment or employment. Higher cover may require underwriting.
What happens to the payout if I have not nominated a beneficiary?
Without a nomination, Singlife pays the first S$150,000 to the proper claimant, while the remaining amount follows estate law and may take about six months through probate or up to three years through letters of administration. Making a nomination can help avoid these delays.
