$1.2 Billion of GST Vouchers and MediSave Top-Ups for 1.57 Million Singaporeans

A total of 1.57 million eligible citizens will receive notifications on their 2017 GST Vouchers (GSTV) and MediSave top-ups. Citizens may also view their GSTV – Cash and MediSave benefits online by logging in with SingPass at www.gstvoucher.gov.sg. To increase convenience to citizens, and be more eco-friendly, younger recipients with mobile numbers updated with SingPass will be notified via mobile SMS notifications. Other recipients will receive letter notifications.

Individual Benefits

GSTV – Cash and one-off Cash Special Payment

2          About 1.37 million eligible Singaporeans will receive up to $500 in GSTV – Cash in 2017, comprising a payment of up to $300 in August 2017 and a one-off Special Payment in November 2017. The GSTV – Cash and Cash Special Payment will cost $680 million.

3          Eligible citizens are encouraged to log in and update their payment mode to direct bank crediting at www.gstvoucher.gov.sg if they have not already done so, as cheque payments will take 2 weeks longer to process.

MediSave Top-Ups

4          About 450,000 Singaporeans aged 65 years and above will receive the GSTV – MediSave of up to $450 in August 2017. This will cost about $130 million.

5          In addition, Singaporeans who are born on or before 31 December 1959 (58 years and above in 2017) and do not receive Pioneer Generation (PG) benefits will receive a MediSave top-up of up to $200 in 2017 and 2018. The top-up for 2017 will benefit about 520,000 citizens, and cost about $95 million. It will be credited into eligible citizens' MediSave accounts in August 2017. In total:

• A non-Pioneer aged 65 in 2017 and who is living in an HDB flat (and does not own a second property) can receive $450 of MediSave top-ups this year.

6          Pioneers will also receive their PG MediSave top-ups of $200 to $800 in July 2017. Taking both the PG MediSave and GSTV – MediSave together:

• A Pioneer aged 70 in 2017 who is living in an HDB flat (and does not own a second property) will receive $450 of MediSave top-ups;

• A Pioneer aged 85 in 2017 who is living in an HDB flat (and does not own a second property) will receive $1,250 of MediSave top-ups.

Household Benefits

GSTV – U-Save

7          The GSTV – U-Save is given every 3 months to help offset utilities bills directly. As announced at Budget 2017, there will be a permanent increase of between $40 to $120 to the annual U-Save rebate from July 2017. Following the increase, the GSTV – U-Save will cost about $265 million, and benefit about 880,000 eligible Singaporean HDB households.

One-off Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebate

8          The one-off S&CC rebate was announced at Budget 2017 to provide additional support to households. Around 880,000 eligible Singaporean HDB households will receive 1.5 to 3.5 months of S&CC rebate in FY2017, depending on their HDB flat type.   

What this means for you

9          Most citizens will automatically receive their GSTV payouts if they had signed up for the GSTV or any other government payout scheme in the past. For the small number of citizens who have not signed up for the GSTV or past government payouts, they have until 31 December 2017 to sign up online, or through a hardcopy form (found at the Community Centres). Please see Annex A (346 KB) for more information on the benefits and Annex B (188 KB) for examples of three Singaporean archetypes, including the household benefits they will receive.

Doing more for the environment – mobile SMS notifications

This year, eligible recipients will receive mobile SMS notifications about their GST Voucher – Cash and MediSave eligibility from 27 to 29 June. This will be faster and more convenient for citizens, while enabling them to do their part for the environment. The sender of the SMS will be "GSTV", and the SMS will request that eligible citizens log into www.gstvoucher.gov.sg with SingPass to view their benefits. Citizens are reminded to beware of phishing websites, which may ask for their personal information without SingPass authentication.

Faster: SMS notifications will reach recipients earlier than letters

Simple: Messages will be short and concise

Convenient: Can be viewed anywhere, anytime

Eco-Friendly: Reduces paper wastage

Those in the 21 to 55 age group with mobile numbers updated with SingPass will only receive SMS notifications (without hardcopy letters). Those aged 56 and above with mobile numbers updated with SingPass will receive both SMSes and notification letters. We hope more citizens will opt for SMS notifications in future, by updating their mobile numbers with SingPass at www.singpass.gov.sg. 

Contact Information

10        Details on the GSTV can be found at www.gstvoucher.gov.sg, and information on the other Budget benefits can be found at www.singaporebudget.gov.sg. If you require more information, the contact details are as follows:

Issued by Ministry of Finance
Singapore
27 June 2017