100,000 Employers to Receive $920 million in the First Payment of Jobs Credit

100,000 employers employing some 1.3 million local workers will receive $920 million in the first payment of Jobs Credit on 31 March 2009.

2. The Jobs Credit scheme is part of the $20.5 billion Resilience Package announced in Budget 2009 to help Singapore see through the severe economic downturn this year. The Jobs Credit scheme provides cash grants to employers to help them preserve jobs. Under the scheme, an employer will receive a 12% cash grant on the first $2,500 of each month's wages for each employee on their CPF payroll. It is a one-year scheme with four quarterly payments.

First Payment of Jobs Credit on 31 March 2009

3. Eligible employers will receive a notification letter by 27 March 2009 from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) which administers the scheme. The letter will inform them of the amount of Jobs Credit they will receive for the first payment, which will be based on the wages that they paid in October to December 2008.

4. The First Payment will be made on 31 March 2009. The remaining three payments will be made on:

Second Payment : 30 June 2009
Third Payment : 30 September 2009
Fourth Payment : 31 December 2009

5. Employers eligible for future payments will receive a notification letter from IRAS prior to the payment dates.

No Sign-Up Necessary to Receive Jobs Credit

6. The Jobs Credit will be automatically granted to eligible employers ; employers do not need to apply for it. The Jobs Credit will be computed based on CPF contribution data and will be paid via direct credit into employers' bank accounts or by cheque.

Further Extension of CPF Contribution Deadline for Jobs Credit

7. As the Jobs Credit scheme was announced on 22 January 2009 and is new, a further extension of deadline has been granted for employers to qualify for the First Payment of Jobs Credit. Employers who make late CPF contributions by 15 April 2009 for wages that were paid in October to December 2008 will receive Jobs Credits on these wages on 30 June 2009. (They will hence receive the First Payment of Jobs Credit at the same time as the Second Payment that will be made on 30 June 2009.) There will be no extension of deadline for the Second and Third Payments of Jobs Credit. Employers will have to make CPF payments on time in order to qualify for these Jobs Credit payments.

8. For more information on the Jobs Credit, visit www.iras.gov.sg or call 1800 356 4055. Visit the following websites for more information on other measures introduced in the Resilience Package to help preserve jobs for Singaporeans:

Enhanced Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR)
- www.wda.gov.sg 

Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Special Payments
- www.cpf.gov.sg 

MINISTRY OF FINANCE