SINGAPORE: A new S$1.5 billion support package was announced on Friday (Oct 14) to help Singaporeans cope with the rising cost of living, with more support for lower-income households.
Building on support measures announced during this year’s Budget as well as in April and June, the new package will be funded by the “better-than-expected” fiscal out-turn in the first half of this financial year. There will be no draw on past reserves.
In a press release on Friday, the Ministry of Finance said the new package, together with earlier rounds of support measures rolled out this year, will fully cover the increase in cost of living for lower-income households on average.
It added that for middle-income households, this will cover more than half of the increase in cost of living.
Here are some of the key measures:
Cash payouts to cover increase in cost of living
A one-off Cost-of-Living (COL) special payment of up to S$500 will be paid to eligible Singaporeans in December, together with the Assurance Package for GST Cash Payout announced at this year’s Budget.
To qualify for the COL special payment, the recipient must be aged 21 and above in 2023, with an assessable income (AI) of not more than S$100,000 in the Year of Assessment (YA) 2022. They must also not own more than one property.
The special payment ranges from S$300 to S$500, depending on the recipient’s AI.
Those with an AI of not more than S$22,000 will receive S$500, while those with an AI above S$22,000 but not more than S$34,000 will receive S$400.
The remaining eligible Singaporeans, who have an AI above S$34,000 but not more than S$100,000, will receive S$300.
About 2.5 million Singaporeans will benefit from the special payment.
No application is required and more details will be made available next month.
More CDC vouchers
A new tranche of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers worth S$100 will be given to every Singaporean household in January 2023.
This is on top of the S$200 CDC vouchers announced at this year’s Budget, bringing the total to S$300.
No application is needed and the vouchers can be used at participating hawkers and heartland merchants, which will be identified by the CDC voucher decal.
You may search for the nearest participating hawkers and heartland merchants here.
The Government is also working towards allowing the donation of CDC Vouchers, with more details to be provided later.