Singaporean households can claim S$300 worth of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers today (January 3), of which S$150 are to be used at participating supermarkets.
The five supermarket chains that accept the CDC vouchers comprise FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime, Hao Mart and U Stars. The remaining S$150 worth of vouchers can be utilised at about 20,300 hawker stalls and heartland merchants’ stores.
These vouchers are part of the government’s Assurance Package and the S$1.5 billion Support Package announced by the government last October to cushion the effects of inflation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike in Singapore.
Many Singaporeans want more flexibility in utilising CDC vouchers
According to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the launch of the CDC Vouchers Scheme 2023, the government has received feedback from Singaporeans after the first two tranches of CDC vouchers asking for flexibility to spend them on groceries at supermarkets.
However, participating heartland shop owners as well as hawkers have voiced out their concerns on the issues the CDC vouchers may potentially cause if they were extended to supermarkets as the scheme was originally intended to help heartland businesses.
Hence, the government has decided that the vouchers would be split into two parts, with half to be set aside for heartland shops and hawkers, and the other half for supermarkets.
In addition, the vouchers are colour-coded — teal is for heartland merchants, while yellow is for supermarkets. The CDC vouchers will expire on 31 December 2023.
How can Singaporeans redeem and use the CDC vouchers?
Similar to previous tranches of the CDC vouchers, the vouchers will be distributed digitally.
A member of each Singaporean household can redeem it via RedeemSG, the Singapore government’s voucher disbursement system, and log in with his/her Singpass account to claim the vouchers.
Following that, a voucher link will be sent to his/her registered mobile phone number, which can be shared with other household members.
For those who cannot claim their vouchers online, they can drop by a nearby Community Club (CC) for assistance and bring along their Identity Cards for verification.
To utilise the voucher, simply click the voucher link sent to your phone number and select the voucher you want to use. Next, choose the amount you want to spend and show the QR code to the merchant to complete your transaction.
Be sure to look out for the following decals to identify participating merchants and supermarkets. You can also look up the nearest participating merchants here.
Assisting Singaporeans during times of economic downturn
Besides these CDC vouchers, DPM Wong also said that the government will also be issuing another round of U-save rebates later this month to help households offset their utility bills.
Households in one-room and two-room flats will get the largest rebate amounting to S$190, while those in three-room flats will get S$170.
Meanwhile, those living in four-room flats will receive S$150, and those in five-room flats will receive S$130. Singaporean households in executive or multi-generational flats will get S$110.
Later in February, the government will also be disbursing cash payouts and MediSave top-ups for eligible seniors and children.
Lower-income Singaporeans aged 55 years and above will receive up to S$300 in cash and S$150 in their Central Provident Fund MediSave accounts, while Singaporeans aged 20 years and below will also receive S$150 in their MediSave accounts.
Giving back to the community with balance amounts of CDC vouchers
Due to public feedback that some Singaporean households would like to share the balance of their vouchers with those who might need it more due to rising living costs, the government has allowed Singaporean households to donate the remainder of their CDC vouchers from 2021 and 2022 (which have expired on 31 December) to their preferred charities via the CDC Vouchers Scheme website.
These vouchers will be donated to the charities in cash, and tax deductions for the Year of Assessment 2024 may be provided by the respective charities depending on their own policies.
Similar to the previous tranches, the government will also announce more details on the donation of the 2023 CDC Vouchers at a later date for those who want to donate their unutilised CDC vouchers.
Featured Image Credit: Community Development Council Singapore
