The latest-announced CDC vouchers come on the heels of the S$300 worth of CDC vouchers disbursed in January. - ST
SINGAPORE: Some 1.3 million Singaporean households will each get S$800 in CDC vouchers, with $500 to be disbursed in May and the remaining $300 in January 2026.
Households will also get up to $760 in U-Save rebates in financial year 2025 to help them cope with their utility bills, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Tuesday (Feb 18). This is double the regular amount of U-Save rebates, and will benefit over 950,000 Singaporean families living in housing board flats.
Families with children will receive further support to defray expenses, as will lower-income families and individuals, said PM Wong in his Budget statement.
For each Singaporean child aged 12 and below, their family will receive $500 in LifeSG credits. Similar to the credits given to all national servicemen in 2024, they can be used at online or physical merchants that accept payment via PayNow or Nets QR.
Singaporeans aged 13 to 20 in 2025 will instead receive a $500 top-up to their Edusave account, or their post-secondary education account. They can use this top-up to pay for approved education-related expenses.
To help households facing greater financial stress, ComCare support will be enhanced from April. For instance, a one-person household on long-term assistance will receive $120 more each month, bringing their monthly cash assistance to $760.
Those on short- to medium-term assistance will also receive more than before, based on the household’s composition, needs and income, added PM Wong, who is also finance minister.
At the same time, community organisations who help households in need will be given more support by the Government, he added.
The Singapore Allowance, which some pensioners receive each month, will from April be increased from $350 to $390 to support those with smaller pensions. The monthly pension ceiling will also be raised to $1,320.
Budget 2025, titled Onward Together For A Better Tomorrow, was PM Wong’s first Budget as prime minister.
He said the Government had been providing greater support over the last two years to cushion the impact of rising costs on Singaporeans.
This was as global inflation rose sharply in 2022 following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and which remained high after that due to energy, food and supply chain disruptions.
The Assurance Package that was enhanced in 2024 helped to fully offset the effects of inflation for lower-income households, and significantly cushioned the impact on middle-income households, said PM Wong.
“We will continue to provide support for as long as needed, within our means,” he said. “While inflation is expected to ease further this year, prices remain high. Singaporeans are still adjusting to these new price realities.”
The latest-announced CDC vouchers come on the heels of the $300 worth of CDC vouchers disbursed in January, which was the sixth tranche of the vouchers and which are valid till Dec 31.
Close to 1.2 million Singaporean households, or about 90 per cent of the 1.33 million households, had claimed their $300 CDC vouchers, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry as well as Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling said in January.
More than $132 million had been spent at participating hawker stalls, heartland merchants’ stores and supermarkets, she added then. - The Straits Times/ANN
