Top News

The cash payout, known as the Cost-of-Living Special Payment, will be increased by S$200 for all eligible recipients, raising the total amount to S$400-600 from S$200-400 previously, The Business Times reported, citing a Tuesday announcement by Jeffrey Siow, Senior Minister of State for Finance.

The payment is slated for September and will go to Singapore citizens aged 21 and above in 2026 who reside in the city-state, have an assessable annual income of up to S$100,000 and own no more than one property. Around 2.4 million people are expected to receive the payout.

The S$500 in Community Development Council vouchers, set to benefit about 1.4 million households in Singapore, will be disbursed this June instead of January 2027 as earlier scheduled under the city-state’s 2026 national budget.

According to the original scheme, the vouchers would be valid until the end of 2027, with half redeemable at participating heartland merchants and hawkers and the rest at selected supermarket chains.

First introduced in 2020 and expanded in 2021, the program aims to help households cope with living costs while supporting businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been distributed every year since Budget 2021.

The three most recent tranches were S$300 in January 2025, S$500 in May 2025 and S$300 in January 2026.

Speaking on Tuesday as he unveiled the latest measures, Siow said petrol and diesel prices have climbed amid surging global oil prices and are expected to stay high for some time.

The government is closely monitoring the cost of food and other essential goods and services. For now, the increase in fuel costs has not fully translated into broader price increases across the economy, he noted.

He said about S$1 billion has been earmarked to assist those most affected by rising prices and provide broader support for households and businesses, in addition to the S$155 billion already committed under Budget 2026.

“We cannot predict how exactly events will unfold or when the conflict will end,” he said, as quoted by The Straits Times. “What we do know is that Singaporeans are already feeling some of the effects on the ground…The Government is not waiting to act.”

This month, over one million eligible households living in public Housing & Development Board flats will receive S$110-190 in U-Save utility rebates, depending on their flat type, to help offset higher utility bills from April to June, as outlined in the 2026 budget.

Another rebate of up to S$190 will be provided in July to cushion a sharper hike in utility costs expected between July and September.

Over the financial year from April 2026 to March 2027, eligible households can receive as much as S$570 in U-Save rebates, or 1.5 times the regular amount.