$1.5 billion Support Package to Provide Further Relief for All Singaporean Households with more support for Lower- to Middle-Income Groups

1. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong has announced a $1.5 billion support package. This will provide further cost of living relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income groups. This builds on the support measures announced in Budget 2022, April 2022 and June 2022. The package will be funded from the better-than-expected fiscal out-turn in the first half of FY2022. Omicron was milder than expected, and more sectors of the economy had opened up in tandem, boosting economic recovery. There will be no draw on Past Reserves for this support package. 

Global Inflation

2. The Government has rolled out a comprehensive set of measures since the start of this year, to help Singaporeans cope with higher inflation and cost of living concerns.  

3. Anticipating rising prices, the Government introduced measures in Budget 2022 to cushion the impact to Singaporeans. In April 2022, we also brought forward some of the Budget measures, such as the disbursement of the Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers to all Singaporean households and the Small Business Recovery Grant for SMEs. In June 2022, in response to the sharper than expected rise in global inflation, we rolled out a $1.5 billion support package to provide immediate and targeted relief for the lower-income and more vulnerable groups. This included the one-off GST Voucher – Special Payment of up to $300 cash for lower- to middle-income Singaporeans and the one-off $100 Household Utilities Credit for all Singaporean households. 

4. Since then, inflation has picked up further globally. While supply chain frictions have eased slightly, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to put pressure on commodity prices. As a small, open economy, Singapore is particularly susceptible to imported price pressures, through channels such as food and energy. Domestically, a tight labour market continues to support strong wage growth. As such, we must be prepared for inflation to stay elevated for some time. 

$1.5 billion Support Package

5.  In light of the continued challenging environment, the Government will provide an additional $1.5 billion support package to provide further relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income groups. This includes a cost-of-living (COL) Special Payment of up to $500 cash for 2.5 million adult Singaporeans.

6. This new $1.5 billion support 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, and more than half of the increase in cost of living for middle-income households on average this year. More details can be found in the “ Estimating the Effects of Cost-of-Living Support Measures in 2022” Report. 

7. A summary of the measures in the package is provided in the Table below and the details are in the Annex 

8. COL Special Payment: Eligible adult Singaporeans will receive up to $500 cash. This payout will be disbursed in December 2022, together with the Assurance Package for GST Cash Payout announced at Budget 2022. Eligible individuals should have an Assessable Income (AI) for Year of Assessment 2022 (YA2022) of $100,000 and below and should not own more than one property. About 2.5 million Singaporeans will benefit from the COL Special Payment. 

9. CDC Vouchers: In January 2023, every Singaporean household will receive additional $100 CDC Vouchers. This amounts to a total of $300 CDC Vouchers in January 2023, including the $200 CDC Vouchers announced at Budget 2022 under the Assurance Package for GST. The CDC Vouchers will be allocated equally for spending at both heartland shops and participating supermarkets. The Government is also working towards allowing the donation of CDC Vouchers. The CDCs will provide more details subsequently.

10. Public Transport Subsidies and Public Transport Vouchers: The Government will set aside about $200 million in the October COL package to cover the 10.6%-point fare increase that will be carried over to future fare review exercises as announced by the Public Transport Council on 12 October 2022. This additional subsidy helps to mitigate the impact of the fare increase on commuters and pay for higher costs of providing public transport services due to the increase in energy prices, manpower costs and inflation. To provide additional support for lower- to lower-middle income households, 600,000 PTVs will be made available for resident households with monthly household income per person of not more than $1,600. Each PTV is worth $30 and can be used to top up fare cards or buy Monthly Travel / Concession Passes.

11. MOE’s financial assistance schemes:  MOE will be raising the income eligibility criteria for financial assistance schemes to defray school expenses for more students. This will take effect from 1 January 2023

¹ for primary, secondary and pre-university students, and from AY2023 for the government bursaries for post-secondary education institutions (PSEIs). The bursary quanta for full-time Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students will also be enhanced from AY2023, with those from lower-income households benefitting from the highest increase. These enhancements follow MOE’s announcement in August 2022 on increasing transport and meal subsidies

² for primary and secondary students under the MOE FAS and bursaries for pre-university students, which will also take effect from 1 January 2023. MOE is reviewing the government bursaries for diploma and undergraduate students, and will share more details when ready.

Issued by:

Ministry of Finance

Singapore

14 Oct 2022

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[1] Applies to the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (MOE FAS) for Government and Government-Aided Schools (GGAS) and Specialised Schools (SS), the Special Education (SPED) FAS for MOE-funded SPED schools and the MOE Independent School Bursary.

[2] https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/20220824-enhanced-financial-support-for-needy-students-amidst-rising-cost-pressures