The government of Singapore provides many payments to increase financial security among citizens with lower incomes. One of them is year-end payouts. Under this, the main beneficiaries are people with low incomes and senior citizens. These payments are a significant source of income for many people.
Singapore Year-End Payouts
The Singaporean government provides year-end payouts to eligible senior citizens on the basis of their age, income, and property ownership. These payments are provided to the citizens to help them keep pace with inflation and the rise in the costs of living. Those people who have little or no source of income are dependent on this income for their basic expenses, such as food, power, clothes, rent, etc.
As the name suggests, the payouts are given at the end of the year to the eligible citizens. Payments are distributed on the allotted dates by the government. One of the most popular year-end payouts in Singapore is the Assurance Package (AP). The amounts may vary according to the individual’s income and property ownership. There are many other factors on which the amount is dependent. To know in detail about the Singapore year-end payouts, read the complete article.
GST Voucher
The government introduced the permanent GST Voucher scheme in Budget 2012 to assist lower and middle-income Singapore households with their expenses, particularly the Goods and Services Tax (GST) they pay. The cash payments have been enhanced up to $850 from 2024 to provide support to lower-income Singaporeans. This scheme consists of four components, and each of them is designed to support different household needs:
- Cash: It provides Singaporeans with low incomes with immediate financial assistance. It is paid in August each year.
- Medisave: It offers Singaporeans aged 65 and above a bonus to their CPF MediSave account to support their medical needs. It is paid in August each year.
- U-Save: Offers quarterly rebates to qualified HDB households to help defray their utility costs. It is paid in January, April, July, and October each year.
- S&CC Rebate: It offers eligible HDB households with quarterly rebates to offset their S&CC. It is paid in January, April, July, and October each year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Must be a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore.
- Must be aged 21 and above in 2024.
- For the year of assessment 2023, assessable income must not exceed $34,000.
- The annual value of the home must not exceed $31,000 as of 31 July 2024.
- The individual must not own more than one property.
Assurance Package (AP) Cash
Under this payment, about $700 to $2,250 cash payouts will be distributed for eligible adults in Singapore. The amount will be distributed on the basis of their assessable income and the number of properties owned. This payment will be distributed to the eligible citizens in December every year from 2022 to 2026. No application is required for this benefit and it will be directly transferred to your account.
Eligibility Criteria
- Must be a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore.
- Must be aged 21 and above in 2025.
Cost-of-Living (COL) Special Payment
This program is launched to provide extra support for households. There will be a one-time payment of $200 to $400 for each eligible applicant. Payment was made in September 2024. No application is required for this benefit and it will be directly transferred to your account.
Eligibility Criteria
- Must be a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore.
- Must be aged 21 and above in 2025.
- Assessable income for Year of Assessment 2023 must not surpass $100,000.
- The applicant is only allowed to own one property.
Cost-of-Living (COL) U-Save
This scheme is launched in Singapore households living in HDB flats to provide them monetary aid. In addition to GSTV, eligible HDB households can receive $220 to $380 through U-Save and AP U-Save. From April 2024 to January 2025, it includes the $20 quarterly U-Save for carbon tax and water price.
Eligibility Criteria
- Must be a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore living in HDB flats.
- If an HDB flat is either partially rented out or not rented at all, there must be at least one Singapore Citizen owner or occupier in the household to qualify for U-Save.
- If the whole HDB flat is rented out, there must be at least one Singapore citizen tenant.