The Singapore government will inject an additional S$1.9 billion into enhancements for the Assurance Package to help Singaporeans cope with cost-of-living concerns and economic uncertainties, said DPM Lawrence Wong in his Budget 2024 speech today (Feb 16). The enhancements will support residents in four main areas.
Firstly, each Singaporean household will receive an additional S$600 in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers. These vouchers will be disbursed in two equal tranches of S$300, with the first in end-June this year, and the second in January 2025.
Secondly, eligible Singaporeans will receive a one-off cost-of-living special payment of between S$200 and S$400 in cash in September. To qualify for this one-off payment, you must be a Singaporean aged 21 and above in 2024, reside in Singapore, not own more than one property, and have an assessable income of up to S$100,000 in Year of Assessment 2023.
Thirdly, there will be additional one-off U-Save rebates for those living in HDB flats, on top of existing disbursements from other support packages. These rebates will be disbursed in four tranches starting from April.
According to DPM Wong, eligible households will receive up to S$950 — or 2.5 times the amount of regular U-Save rebates — in financial year 2024.
Finally, the government will provide a one-off rebate for Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) for HDB flats, to offset 0.5 months of S&CC in January 2025. Eligible HDB households will receive up to four months of S&CC rebates this year.
Aside from the Assurance Package, DPM Wong said that the government aims to “permanently defray GST expense for lower and middle-income households”. To do so, the Singapore government will top up the existing GST voucher fund by S$6 billion.
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