By Ministry of Finance, Singapore | September 28, 2023 | Economy, Public Welfare

Inflation and Cost-of-Living Concerns

To help Singaporeans better cope with higher inflation and cost-of-living concerns, the Government has provided assistance through Budget and off-Budget measures since the start of last year.

While inflation has come down from its peak, households are still dealing with the impact of price increases in various areas. The Government will provide an additional $1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package to provide relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income families. This includes a $0.8 billion enhancement to the Assurance Package (AP) bringing the AP to over $10 billion.

Assurance Package (AP)

Cash Special Payment:
Additional payment of up to $200 cash for 2.5 million eligible adult Singaporeans.
This one-off special payment will be disbursed in December 2023, together with the existing AP Cash component.
In total, eligible adult Singaporeans will receive up to $800 cash in December 2023.
This will provide more support to lower- and middle-income adult Singaporeans.
Singaporeans Aged 21 Years and Above in 2024
Owns 0 to 1 Property: $200 (AP Cash Special Payment), $600 (Dec 2023 AP Cash)
Owns more than 1 Property: $150 (AP Cash Special Payment), $350 (Dec 2023 AP Cash)

CDC Vouchers

Additional $200 of CDC Vouchers for every Singaporean household in 2024. This will bring the total amount of CDC Vouchers to $500 for every Singaporean household in 2024.
The additional CDC vouchers will be allocated equally: $100 for spending at participating heartland merchants and hawkers, and $100 for spending at participating supermarkets.
The 2024 CDC Vouchers should be claimed digitally at go.gov.sg/cdcv from 3 January 2024 onwards. The vouchers can be claimed any time during their validity period. Those requiring further assistance can approach their nearest Community Centre/Club (CC).
The vouchers will expire in end-2024.
Additional Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate

Additional one-off 0.5-month of S&CC rebate for 950,000 Singaporean HDB households.
This will be disbursed in January 2024, together with the regular S&CC rebates.
This will, on average, 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.
Additional U-Save Rebates to cushion impact of increases in carbon tax and water price

Additional $20 per quarter of U-Save rebates from January 2024 to December 2025, or a total of $80 per year for 2 years, for 950,000 Singaporean HDB households.
These rebates will be disbursed together with the regular U-Save rebates and will cushion the impact of the increases in carbon tax and water price in 2024 and 2025.
Over 2024–2025, the additional U-Save rebates will on average fully offset the increase in utility bills for 1- to 2- room flats, about 80% for 3- to 4- room HDB flats, and about 65% for larger flats. On average, this translates to 3- to 4- room HDB flats paying about $2 more per month, and 5-room and larger HDB flats paying about $4 more per month.
Public Transport-Related Measures

Public Transport Subsidies

Additional subsidies of about $300 million in 2024 to cover the deferred fare adjustment quantum of 15.6% that will be carried over to future fare review exercises as announced by the Public Transport Council on 18 September 2023.
This additional subsidy helps to moderate the fare increase and pay for higher costs of providing public transport services due to the continued increase in energy prices in 2022, core inflation, and strong wage growth.
Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs)

PTVs worth $50 each for resident households with monthly household income per person of not more than $1,600.
The PTVs, which will be disbursed from end-December 2023, can be used to top up fare cards or buy Monthly Travel / Concession Passes.

Image Credit – MOF Singapore