Eligible Singaporeans to receive special cost-of-living payment in September 2024

More than 2.4mn adult Singaporeans will receive S$200 to S$400 in cash as part of this one-off payout.

Singaporean adults owning no more than one property, with an annual assessable income of up to S$100,000, are eligible to receive a special cost-of-living payout coming up in September 2024.

This is regardless of the type of property they live in. More than 2.4mn people are expected to receive the payout, receiving between S$200 to S$400, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Tuesday (13 August 2024). 

Announced in Budget 2024, this special payment aims to provide cost-of-living relief for Singaporean households, with more support given to lower- to middle-income groups.

Here's what you need to know about the upcoming payment:

How to receive the payout

If you have PayNow-NRIC or a valid bank account

According to MOF, Eligible recipients will automatically receive their payments in September. Citizens may check their eligibility on the govbenefits website by logging in with their Singpass.

Recipients who have signed up for PayNow-NRIC will be able to receive the cash benefits sooner, as this is the primary mode of payment used by the ministry for such disbursements. MOF thus encouraged those who have yet to do so, to register for PayNow-NRIC with their banks by 26 August 2024 if they have accounts with the twelve participating banks in Singapore. By doing so, eligible citizens will receive their payments from 5 September 2024.

To note, these are the participating banks, as shared by MOF: Bank of China, CIMB, Citibank, DBS Bank / POSB, HSBC Bank, ICBC, Maybank, OCBC Bank, RHB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Trust Bank, and UOB Bank.

Meanwhile, citizens without PayNow-NRIC linked bank account,s but have a DBS/POSB, OCBC, or UOB bank account, may provide their bank account information on the govbenefits website by 27 August 2024. They will then receive the cash benefits via GIRO from 13 September 2024.

If you do not have PayNow-NRIC or a valid bank account

Eligible citizens who have not linked their NRICs to PayNow, or provided a valid bank account, will receive their cash benefits via GovCash. These recipients may withdraw the special payment at any OCBC ATMs island-wide by:

1. Entering their Payment Reference Number (PRN), which can be retrieved by logging into the govbenefits website with their Singpass from 23 September 2024,
2. Keying in their NRIC, and
3. Passing the facial verification.

They do not require an OCBC bank account to withdraw their payment at the OCBC ATMs.

MOF also shared that GovCash recipients will be able to use the LifeSG application to make payments to merchants by scanning their PayNow/NETS QR code, or transfer payment(s) to their bank account via PayNow-NRIC if they subsequently register for this service.

Across all modes of payment, eligible recipients will only be notified of the payout once it has been credited, in September 2024. Those who have downloaded and completed their one-time setup on the Singpass app will receive notifications through their app inbox. Those who have not downloaded or completed their one-time setup on the Singpass app, but have registered their mobile numbers with Singpass, will receive SMS notifications.

Citizens have been reminded that to safeguard against scams, the SMS notification sent by 'gov.sg' will only inform citizens of their benefits. Citizens will not be asked to reply to the SMS, click any links, or provide any information to the sender.

No messages about the payment will be sent through WhatsApp or other mobile messaging platforms.

To read about further support measures that are expected to be rolled out till March 2025, head over to our previous coverage.