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The government will introduce several additional one-off support measures this year under the Assurance Package (AP), Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced in Parliament on Feb. 14, as part of his delivery for the 2023 budget statement.

Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, added that he was cognisant of how many Singaporeans are still concerned about the immediate cost-of-living issues.

Wong said that the government will do more to help Singaporeans through this difficult period, tide through the period of higher inflation, and cushion the impact of the new GST rates.

One-off measures under the AP

Eligible Singaporeans to receive a payment of S$200-$400 for cost of living

One such measure is a cost-of-living special payment ranging from S$200 to S$400 for each eligible adult Singaporean, have an assessable income of not more than S$100,000 and do not own more than one property.

This special payment is expected to benefit about 2.5 million adult Singaporeans.

For eligible Singaporeans who have an assessable income of S$22,000 or less, they will receive S$400.

As for those who have an assessable income of over S$22,000 to S$34,000, they will receive S$300.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans who have an assessable income of more than S$34,000, up to S$100,000, will receive S$200.

Seniors aged 55 and above to receive an additional bonus ranging from S$200 to S$300

Eligible older Singaporeans will also receive additional support in the form of a cost-of-living Senior's Bonus.

To qualify for this special payment, such Singaporeans must be aged 55 and above, have an assessable income of not more than S$34,000, have a residential address which is a property with an annual value that does not exceed S$21,000, and do not own more than one property.

Should the annual value of their property be S$13,000 or less, Singaporeans aged 55 to 64 will receive S$250, while those aged 65 years and above will receive S$300.

As for those who live in properties with an annual value ranging from more than S$13,000 to S$21,000, they will receive S$200.

U-Save rebates to be doubled over the next three tranches of disbursement

Wong added that he would also double the U-Save rebates provided to eligible households over the next three tranches of disbursement in April, July and October.

This means households will receive an additional U-Save rebate under the Assurance Package on top of the regular U-Save rebate that they receive.

For example one-room and two-room HDB flats will receive an additional S$95 for each tranche of payment.

This comes up to a total of S$760 in U-Save rebates for the whole of 2023, once the additional tranche of payment for January 2023 is included.

The additional payment per tranche is S$85 for three-room flats, S$75 for four-room flats, S$65 for five-room flats and S$55 for executive/multi-generation flats.

This translates to a total U-Save rebate of S$680 for three-room flats, S$600 for four-room flats, S$520 for five-room flats, and S$440 for executive/multi-generation flats, for the entire year.

Top-ups for households with children

For households with children, each Singaporean child aged six and below will be provided with a one-off S$400 top-up to their Child Development Account (CDA) from September 2023.

In addition, each Singaporean child aged between seven and 16 years old, and between 17 and 20 year old will receive a one-off S$300 top-up to their Edusave account and Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) respectively, in May 2023.

These top-ups are in addition to the annual Edusave contribution by the government and will benefit about 770,000 children.

Enhancements to the AP

Eligible Singaporeans to receive additional AP cash of between S$300 to S$650

Wong also highlighted that following a review of the AP to account for higher inflation, several enhancements will be made to the package.

One of these is increasing the cash payments to eligible Singaporeans by between S$300 to S$650, which means they will receive between S$700 to S$2,250 over five years.

For Singaporeans to be eligible, they must aged 21 years and above, have an assessable income of not more than S$100,000 and not own more than one property.

For example, a Singaporean with an assessable income of less than S$34,000 will receive an additional S$200 in December of 2023, 2024 and 2025, on top of the initial S$400 for each of these months.

They will then receive an additional S$50 for December 2026, on top of the original S$200.

Coupled with the first AP cash payment of S$200 in December 2022 and this means such Singaporeans can receive up to S$2,250 over five years.

The cash payments will benefit about 2.9 million adult Singaporeans.

Additional S$100 Community Development Council Vouchers

Every Singaporean household will also receive an additional S$100 in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers in Jan. 2024, over and above the S$200 CDC Vouchers announced at Budget 2022.

This means each Singaporean household will receive S$300 CDC Vouchers in January 2024.

About 1.3 million Singaporean households are expected to benefit from this measure.

In summarising the additional one-off measures and enhancements, Wong said that these will cost about S$3 billion, which means the total amount of the Package will increase from S$6.6 billion to S$9.6 billion.

Permanent GST Voucher scheme to be enhanced further

The permanent GST Voucher (GSTV) scheme will also be enhanced further so that it continues to defray GST expenses for eligible households, according to Wong.

For those residing in homes with an annual value of S$13,000 and below, the GSTV cash quantum will be increased from S$400 to S$700 in 2023, and to a further S$850 from 2024 onwards.

As for those residing in home with an annual value of more than S$13,000 and up to S$21,000, the GSTV cash quantum will be increased from S$250 to S$350 in 2023, and then to S$450 from 2024 onwards.

Wong said, "These enhancements to the permanent GSTV scheme ensure that most retiree as well as lower-income households will not be impacted by the GST rate increase."

The minister explained that under Singapore's GST system, which is defined as the GST and GSTV combined, the more well-off consumers, as well as foreigners and tourists, will bear higher effective GST rates than lower-incomes Singaporeans.

"This ensures that those with greater means contribute their fair share of taxes, and will effectively lower the burden of taxes on lower-and middle-income Singaporeans," he said.

Top photo by Galen Crout via Unsplash/MCI via Lawrence Wong/Facebook