20,000 people affected by miscalculation of MOH subsidies & grants, corrections in progress

Miscalculation of subsidies & grants affect 20,000 people, MOH assures corrections are underway

About 20,000 people in Singapore were issued incorrect subsidies and grants due to a system error, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (21 July).

The error was traced to a glitch in the Household Means Eligibility System (HOMES), a means-testing platform used by MOH to assess how much support individuals and households are entitled to.

Glitch affected business income assessments in Jan 2025

According to MOH, the issue arose in Jan 2025, when HOMES failed to properly process the business income data of certain individuals.

As a result, the system generated inaccurate results, which impacted not just the individuals themselves, but also their household members.

This led to around 19,000 people under MOH-run schemes receiving incorrect subsidy amounts.

An additional 1,000 individuals were affected under schemes run by other agencies, including the Early Childhood Development Agency, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Education, and Infocomm Media Development Authority.

For the list of the affected schemes, please refer to the Annex of the MOH’s press release.

MOH clarified that these 20,000 individuals represent fewer than 3% of all people assessed during that period.

Most received more support than they were supposed to

Following a re-assessment, MOH said the majority of affected individuals had actually received more in grants or subsidies than they were eligible for.

MOH assured that these individuals won’t have to return the excess amounts.

For the minority who received less support, the relevant government agencies “will make good the difference”.

These reimbursements are expected to be completed by Nov 2025.

No action required from affected individuals

MOH has assured the public that agencies will reach out directly to those affected. Individuals do not need to take any action on their own.

The ministry has also said it will correct all affected results from 21 July onwards.

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Featured image adapted from Roots.