Eligible Singaporeans to receive up to S$800 in cash payouts in Dec 2023

About 2.9mn Singaporean adults will receive up to S$600 in AP Cash, of which 2.5mn will also receive up to S$200 in AP Cash Special Payment.

Under the enhanced Assurance Package (AP), Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2024 will receive up cash payouts in December 2023. The amount ranges from S$200 to S$800. About 2.9mn adult Singaporeans will receive up to S$600 in AP Cash.

Of this, about 2.5mn will also receive up to S$200 in AP Cash Special Payment, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Wednesday (15 November 2023).

As shared by the MOF, the AP aims to help Singaporeans tide through the period of higher inflation and cushion the impact of the GST rate increase. The package includes cash payments, rebates, Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers, and MediSave top-ups.

As announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at Budget 2023, the Government wILL enhance the AP to account for higher inflation and provide additional one-off support to Singaporeans in 2023 to address immediate cost-of-living concerns. This enhancement ensures that the AP will continue to offset additional GST expenses for the majority of Singaporean households for at least five years, with around ten years offset for lower-income households.

On 28 September 2023, DPM Wong announced an additional S$1.1bn Cost-of-Living (COL) Support Package to provide more relief for Singaporean households, especially lower- to middle-income families. This includes a S$0.8bn enhancement to the AP, which brings the total to over S$10bn.

Eligibility

Citizens may check their eligibility for the AP Cash and AP Cash Special Payment at the AP official website by logging in with their Singpass. The AP Cash and AP Cash Special Payment will be disbursed together in one lump sum in December 2023, with Singaporeans receiving up to S$800 in total.

Modes Of Payment for AP Cash and AP Cash Special Payment

Citizens are encouraged to link their NRIC to PayNow by 19 November 2023 if they have accounts with the participating banks in Singapore. By doing so, they can receive their AP Cash and AP Cash Special Payment as early as from 5 December 2023.

Those without PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts can update their bank account information (with DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB) at the AP official website by 27 November 2023 to receive the payment from 13 December 2023.

GovCash has replaced cheques as mode of payment

Alternatively, GovCash has replaced cheques from 2022 as the mode of payment to citizens who have not linked their NRICs to PayNow or provided their bank account details. Citizens on GovCash can withdraw their AP Cash and AP Cash Special Payment at OCBC ATMs islandwide by entering their:

1. Payment Reference Number (PRN) that will be sent to them from 22 December 2023,
2. NRIC,
3. and after passing facial verification.

Eligible recipients will be notified in December 2023 after the AP Cash and AP Cash Special Payment have been credited to them, either via their Singpass app inbox, or via SMS notifications for those who have registered their mobile numbers with Singpass, but have not downloaded or completed their one-time setup of the Singpass app.

Lead image / 123RF