What are some of the things that I can do to help my parents to manage their finance better?

If they are retired and not financially literate, it would be best not to be too adventurous with their money.

Firstly, ensure that they have a decent amount in CPF to draw on. CPF life is a very good annuity and it will form the bedrock of their retirement. Longevity risk is mitigated as it pays for life. If CPF life has been maximized, a private annuity is another good option to increase their retirement income.

Next, you can boost their income by looking at low-risk instruments such as bonds, which you mentioned. Bonds (like SSB) or even investment-grade bond funds do pay a decent dividend and can be used to supplement their income. At this point, the income sources mentioned above should be able to provide for basic expenses.

Keep some liquidity in the form of cash, but you can put a portion in high interest savings account such as CIMB, or in FDs, or very short term endowments (3 years) which can help to squeeze the most of of their money.

A small portion can be directed to defensive equities, but you will need to look for good timing to enter. Several shares listed on SGX have paid decent dividends over the years and are noted for raising their dividends over time, this helps to mitigate inflation.

With the right mixture of asset classes, you can achieve an inflation hedge, low volatility portfolio, which will be stable even during periods of drawdown.

On the risk management side, ensure they have an integrated shield plan, and long term care coverage, so that any emergency won't wipe out their savings or force you to liquidate investments to pay the bills.

The risk profile of someone close to retiring would be quite conservative.

Usually having at max a 20% exposure to equities in their portfolio with the rest split between fixed income instruments like bonds, annuities, as well as a mixture of cash instruments like fixed deposits and cash in the bank.

So a split between these asset classes and tools could be beneficial. Wealth preservation and low volatility would be key here.

However, even before considering what products to buy, make sure that budgeting is a core concept they have to adhere to. No point having money in different places when you're just spending everything within 5 years.

Prepare to live till 100 and make sure that you don't withdraw too much money too quickly while making sure their assets adjust for inflation at the very least.