Seniors advised to stay home; family members who shop for them to receive NTUC FairPrice discount

The offer will take effect from July 26 to Aug 31, under the Pioneer Generation Proxy Initiative. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - To encourage seniors to stay home amid Covid-19, family members can shop on behalf of seniors who hold a Pioneer Generation membership and receive discounts at all outlets, supermarket chain FairPrice announced on Friday (July 23).

To get the 3 per cent discount, shoppers need to present the Pioneer Generation card of their family member at FairPrice or Unity outlets when they shop on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The offer will take effect from next Monday to Aug 31, under the Pioneer Generation Proxy Initiative, which was first introduced during the circuit breaker last year to protect seniors amid the pandemic.

The multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 had on Sunday advised unvaccinated seniors to stay at home as much as possible amid a surge in infections detected at several wet markets here linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster.

Singapore's vaccination programme in the coming weeks will focus on some 140,000 unvaccinated seniors aged 70 and above, about 29 per cent of the seniors in the age group.

FairPrice group chief executive officer Seah Kian Peng said: "We note with concern that there are still many seniors aged 70 and above who have not been vaccinated yet."

"Beyond helping seniors to stretch their dollar, this initiative also encourages family members to check in with their elderly parents who may be living on their own, as we recognise having strong family support is important to one's overall well-being," he added.

The discount is capped at $200 per transaction each day, FairPrice said in a statement.

In 2020, FairPrice gave out $4.92 million in savings through the Pioneer Generation Discount Scheme.

It is one of four discount initiatives to help seniors and low-income families cut costs at FairPrice, including the Merdeka Generation, Community Health Assist Scheme and Seniors discount schemes, which also provide price cuts of up to 3 per cent.

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