Around two million residents in Singapore will benefit from the Assurance Package support in February
SINGAPORE: In February, the Assurance Package Seniors’ Bonus and Assurance Package MediSave will provide assistance to about two million residents of Singapore. Around 850,000 lower-income Singapore nationals aged 55 years and above would receive the Assurance Package Seniors’ Bonus of S$200 (US$150) to S$300, said the Ministry of Finance on Monday (Jan 15).
The incentive will be awarded to seniors residing in properties with an annual value of up to S$25,000. Late last year, MOF announced that the yearly value barrier will be increased to that amount starting on January 1, 2024.
The Seniors’ Bonus for the Assurance Package will be paid out over three years, from 2023 to 2025. Senior Singaporeans with lower incomes will be eligible for cash payments ranging from S$600 to S$900.
Furthermore, the Assurance Package MediSave incentive of S$150 will be deposited into each Singaporean’s CPF MediSave account, regardless of age—20 years and under or 55 years and above.
Over the course of three years, from 2023 to 2025, all Singaporean seniors and children would get MediSave top-ups totaling S$450 as part of the Assurance Package. Approximately two million Singaporeans, independent of their home’s yearly worth or their taxable income, would profit, according to MOF.
The program was initially unveiled in Budget 2020 as a means of offsetting rising goods and services tax (GST) costs. The payout period spans five years, from 2022 to 2026. In December, the most recent payment of S$800 was made to all adult Singaporeans.
In Budget 2023, Lawrence Wong, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, declared that the government will improve the Assurance Package to take into account rising inflation and provide Singaporeans more one-time assistance to deal with their urgent cost of living issues.
