S’poreans To Receive One-Off Payouts Up To $300 Under Budget 2020 Care & Support Package

Singaporeans To Receive $100, $200, Or $300 In 2020 As Part Of Budget 2020

Singaporeans aged above 21 will receive a cash payout of up to $300 this year.

This was announced at Budget 2020 by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (18 Feb).

Source

The Care and Support Package will help households through the current uncertain period as the economy is set to slow down, and is likely to come from the nation’s reserves.

Singaporeans to get $100, $200 or $300 under Care & Support Package

The Care and Support Package is budgeted at $1.6 billion dollars.

This can be seen as similar to the GST payout, except it is budgeted as part of the emergency measures to help Singaporeans through the slow year.

How much someone will receive is based on their income level:

• Those earning between $0 to $28,000 will receive $300;
• Those earning between $28,000 to $100,000 will receive $200 plus an additional $100 for their parents;
• Those earning more than $100,000 or have 2 or more properties will receive $100.

The additional cash for parents is for those who have 1 or more Singaporean children, aged 20 years and younger in 2020.

Each parent will receive the additional $100.

Other payouts given to households

As part of the package to tide through the current Covid-19 outbreak and slowing economy, there will be other payouts for households.

• Low-income Singaporeans will receive Grocery Vouchers worth $100 in 2020 and 2021. These can be used at major supermarkets such as NTUC FairPrice;
• There’ll also be additional $100 cash payout for Singaporeans with at least one Singaporean child aged 20 and below;
• An additional GST voucher – U-Save for households with 5 or more members for 2020 of up to $1,000 will be given as well;
• Lastly, $100 top-up for Singaporeans aged 50 and above on their PAssion cards will be given.

Uncertainty and ample reserves make this payout possible

There’s no doubt that the Budget this year will include such a payout, given the Covid-19 outbreak.

This is on top of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Assurance Package, where Singaporeans will receive between $700 to $1,600 over the next 5 years in preparation for the raising of GST to 9%.

Many households will need all the help they can get, and we’re lucky that there are enough reserves to do so.

However, these reserves are not to be used recklessly, so we shouldn’t expect such payouts to be the norm.

Featured image adapted from CNA.