The recent announcement of the upcoming Assurance Package — which determines payouts based on income and home ownership — has sparked discussion on Reddit over the scheme’s fairness.
Referencing the “huge range” within each income bracket, a Redditor expressed concern that people in “very different financial situations” would end up receiving the same payout amount.
The original poster shared their observation in a thread titled “Is the range a bit too big for government payouts?” posted in the Singapore Subreddit on Wednesday (12 Nov).
Source: MJ_Prototype on Canva. For illustration purposes only
Elaborating, the OP referenced the income brackets for past Assurance Package payouts.
They pointed out that the “middle-income” bracket — for those whose assessable income falls between S$34,000 and S$100,000 — was “quite a huge range”.
Making some rough calculations, the OP argued that an individual earning S$2,900 and another earning S$7,900 per month are in “very different financial situations”, yet they receive the same payout.
While the OP clarified that they were not complaining, they suggested that the government should introduce smaller income brackets.
This will ensure payouts are more “proportionate” to income, thus making things “fairer”, the OP added.
Image by MS News. For illustration purposes only
MS News has reached out to MOF for a response.
Netizens expressed divided opinions on the matter.
One Redditor suggested using “linear mapping” to make the payout distribution “completely fair”.
Source: Reddit
Another netizen noted that there is “no easy way to distribute” as many factors come into play, such as wealth and number of dependents.
Source: Reddit
Meanwhile, this user urged the OP to “just be happy” that they received payouts, instead of making comparisons.
Source: Reddit
From 5 Dec, about three million eligible Singaporeans will receive cash payouts under the enhanced government’s Assurance Package.
Based on the Govbenefits website, those aged above 21 can get up to S$600 in payouts depending on their assessable income and the number of properties they own.
| Assessable Income (AI) | Owns 0–1 Property | Owns More Than 1 Property |
|---|---|---|
| Up to S$39,000 | S$600 | S$100 |
| S$39,001 to S$100,000 | S$350 | S$100 |
| Above S$100,000 | S$100 | S$100 |
The 2025 disbursement is based on each person’s Year of Assessment 2024, which reflects their income earned in 2023.
Also read: ‘I feel isolated’: S’porean teen shares struggles of growing up in low-income family
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Featured image adapted from MS News.