Government benefits schemes 2024-2026: How much you’ll get & when

GST goes up by 1% to 9% on 1 Jan 2024. We have all heard that at least some of the pain is being eased by government benefits schemes but few of us know how much we are entitled to receive. While it’s nice to see that surprise deposit in your bank account, here is our breakdown of what you will receive and when until 2026.

Please note that some of the benefits are given to individuals while others are allocated to households.

CDC Vouchers

Perhaps the best-known government benefits scheme of them all, the household-based CDC (Community Development Council) vouchers have been around since 2021. For 2024, each home will receive S$500 worth of CDC vouchers, compared to S$300 in 2023.

S$250 of this can be spent at participating hawkers and heartland merchants while the other S$250 can be used at participating supermarkets.

You can find more information on the CDC Vouchers scheme here.

Assurance Package (AP) – AP Cash & Special Payment

Cash in hand? Yes, please! Probably the most popular of the government benefits schemes, the Assurance Package (AP) Cash & Special Payment puts money directly in virtually every Singaporean’s pockets.

Citizens aged 21 years and above residing in Singapore will receive cash payments ranging from S$700 to S$2,250, depending on their income and property ownership. These payments will be made over 5 years, from 2022 to 2026.

The first 2 payments, in Dec 2022 and Dec 2023, have already been made. In Dec 2023, there was an additional AP Cash Special Payment (APCSP).

When: Dec 2023 (paid out already)
Who: Citizens born 2003 or earlier
How much:
S$200 – Own more than 1 property and/or earned >S$100,000 in 2022
S$500 (S$150 APCSP) – Own 0 or 1 property & earned S$34,000-S$100,000 in 2022
S$800 (S$200 APCSP) – Own 0 or 1 property & earned <S$34,000 in 2022

When: Dec 2024
Who: Citizens born 2004 or earlier
How much:
S$200 – Own more than 1 property and/or earned >S$100,000 in 2023
S$350 – Own 0 or 1 property & earned S$34,000-S$100,000 in 2023
S$600 – Own 0 or 1 property & earned <S$34,000 in 2023

When: Dec 2025
Who: Citizens born 2005 or earlier
How much:
S$100 – Own more than 1 property and/or earn >S$100,000 in 2024
S$350 – Own 0 or 1 property & earn S$34,000-S$100,000 in 2024
S$600 – Own 0 or 1 property & earn <S$34,000 in 2024

When: Dec 2026
Who: Citizens born 2006 or earlier
How much:
S$100 – Own more than 1 property and/or earn >S$100,000 in 2025
S$150 – Own 0 or 1 property & earn S$34,000-S$100,000 in 2025
S$250 – Own 0 or 1 property & earn <S$34,000 in 2025

2022 payments are not shown above. You can find the complete information here.

Assurance Package (AP) U–Save

The Assurance Package (AP) U–Save government benefits scheme is a household-based payment, not an individual one. Eligible homes will receive between S$700 & S$2,250 altogether from 2023 to 2026.

Both self-owned and rental homes are eligible but there must be at least 1 Singapore citizen living there. None of the owners or occupiers can own more than 1 property.
Note that eligibility is based on what your NRIC states as your address, regardless of where you actually live.

When: Jan 2023
How much:
1- and 2-room – S$95
3-room – S$85
4-room – S$75
5-room – S$65
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$55

When: Jan & Jul 2024
How much:
1- and 2-room – S$190
3-room – S$170
4-room – S$150
5-room – S$130
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$110

When: Jan & Jul 2025
How much:
1- and 2-room – S$190
3-room – S$170
4-room – S$150
5-room – S$130
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$110

When: Jan 2026
How much:
1- and 2-room – S$95
3-room – S$85
4-room – S$75
5-room – S$65
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$55

TOTAL from 2023 to 2026
1- and 2-room – S$570
3-room – S$510
4-room – S$450
5-room – S$390
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$330

You can find the complete information about this government benefits scheme here.

GSTV – U-Save

The Assurance Package U–Save is given to households in addition to the GSTV U-Save scheme.

Eligible homes will receive between S$220 & S$380 PER YEAR from 2023 to 2026. These payments amounting to between S$880 and S$1,520 in total will be evenly distributed over the 4 years and sent out every Jan, Apr, July & Oct.

When: Every Jan, Apr, July & Oct for 4 years – 2023, 2024, 2025 & 2026 (16 payments)
How much:
1- and 2-room – S$95
3-room – S$85
4-room – S$75
5-room – S$65
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$55

TOTAL from 2023 to 2026
1- and 2-room – S$1,520
3-room – S$1,360
4-room – S$1,200
5-room – S$1,040
Exec/Multi-Gen – S$880

Assurance Package (AP) Seniors’ Bonus

The AP Seniors’ Bonus government benefits scheme was previously called GSTV – Cash (Seniors’ Bonus). If you are not eligible, let your parents and grandparents know as they are less likely to be informed.

With this scheme, lower-income senior Singapore citizens aged 55 years and above residing in Singapore will receive cash payments ranging from S$600 to S$900. To be eligible, they may own a maximum of 1 property and it should have an Annual Value (AV) below S$25,000. They should also have an Assessable Income (AI) of below S$34,000.

These payments will be made over 3 years, from 2023 to 2025 and the first payment has been made. Here is what seniors can look forward to in the next 2 years.

When: Feb 2024 & Feb 2025
Who: Citizens born 1969 or earlier for 2024, born 1970 or earlier for 2025
How much:
S$200 – If AV of home is between S$21,000 and S$25,000
S$250 – If AV of home is below S$21,000 and they are 55-64 years old
S$300 – If AV of home is below S$21,000 and they are 65 years old or older

2023 payments are not shown above. You can find the complete information here.

Other government benefits schemes

The Assurance Package (AP) MediSave puts cash directly in the MediSave accounts of young and old Singaporeans. You can find the details here.

950,000 Singaporean HDB households will receive a one-off 0.5-month of Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate. This rebate is designed to  fully offset the S&CC increase in the first year of increases for 1- to 4-room HDB flats and about 85% for larger HDB flats.

With a steep public transport fare hike of 15.6% announced in September 2023, households with an income per person below S$1,600 will receive a S$50 Public Transport Voucher (PTV). Details on applications for the 2023 PTV Exercise will be announced in early 2024. You can find some additional details here.

Apart from this, certain payments have already been completed, such as the Cost of Living (COL) Special Payment. You can find the details here.

It’s going to be difficult to remember all this. Bookmark this page and keep checking back to make sure you get every payment you’re eligible for.

The post Government benefits schemes 2024-2026: How much you’ll get & when appeared first on SETHLUI.com.