HDB Households Will Get Up To $95 GST U-Save Vouchers In Jan To Offset Utility Bills

950,000 S’porean Households Will Get Rebates Of Up To 6 Months

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to be dragging on with no end in sight, draining the financial resources of many Singaporeans.

With the repeated waves of work from home (WFH) mandates, households will also be dealing with climbing utility bills.

To help us out with them, the Government has been giving out Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher – U-Save rebates.

Eligible households will get as much as $95 in Jan.

950,000 Singaporean HDB households to benefit

In a press release on Saturday (1 Jan), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said 950,000 Singaporean HDB households will benefit this month.

Those living in 1-room and 2-room flats will receive $95, with the amount decreasing by $10 as the flats get bigger.

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They explained that Jan’s installment, added to the Special Payment in Apr and Jul, will help average households living in 1- room and 2-room flats cover utilities equivalent to about 4.5-6 months this financial year.

Average households living in 3-room and 4-room flats should’ve gotten rebates equivalent to about 1.5-3 months of their utility bills in FY2021.

Here’s a breakdown of the total savings in FY2021 according to flat type:

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$460 million in rebates given out

Altogether, $460 million in U-Save rebates have been given out by the Government this financial year, MOF said.

These include the regular U-Save rebates given out in in Apr, Jul and Oct, as well as the 2 tranches of Special Payments.

The Special Payments are part of the $900 million Household Support Package announced during Budget 2021 to provide additional support to families during this difficult period.

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More of this support was disbursed to lower-income and middle-income families.

Learn more about the GST Voucher – U-Save scheme here, and read the Frequently-Asked Questions here.

Help for utility bills sorely needed

As households strive to adapt to the current economic climate, we’re thankful that the Government is providing help to residents, especially the lower-income group.

Help to pay utility bills is especially sorely needed after news of Singapore’s electricity tariffs going up yet again.

We hope that the U-Save rebates will be sufficient, if only to counter the effect of the higher prices.

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Featured image from MS News.