SINGAPORE — About two million Singaporeans will receive support through the Assurance Package Seniors’ Bonus and Assurance Package MediSave in February.

Around 850,000 lower-income Singapore citizens aged 55 years and above will receive the Assurance Package Seniors’ Bonus of S$200 to S$300, said the Ministry of Finance on Monday (Jan 15).

The bonus will be paid to seniors living in properties with an annual value of up to S$25,000. MOF had said late last year that the annual value threshold would be raised to that value with effect from Jan 1, 2024.

The Assurance Package Seniors' Bonus will be disbursed over three years, from 2023 to 2025, with lower-income senior Singapore citizens to receive cash payments of S$600 to S$900 through the scheme.

Additionally, every Singaporean aged 20 years and below or 55 years and above, will receive the Assurance Package MediSave bonus of S$150 in their CPF MediSave account. 

All Singaporean children and seniors will receive the Assurance Package MediSave top-ups totalling S$450 over the course of three years from 2023 to 2025.

MOF said that about two million Singaporeans will benefit, regardless of the annual value of their home or their assessable income.

The package was first announced at Budget 2020 to help offset additional goods and services tax (GST) expenses. Payouts are disbursed over five years, from 2022 to 2026. All adult Singaporeans recently received up to S$800 in the most recent payment in December.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong had announced at Budget 2023 that the government would enhance the Assurance Package to account for higher inflation and provide additional one-off support to Singaporeans to address the immediate cost of living concerns. 

Mr Wong also announced in September 2023 an additional S$1.1 billion Cost-of-Living (COL) Support Package to provide more relief for Singaporean households.

The cost-of-living support package includes a S$0.8 billion enhancement to the Assurance Package, bringing the Assurance Package to over S$10 billion.

MODES OF PAYMENT

Singaporeans can check their eligibility for the bonus at the Assurance Package official website by logging in with their Singpass.

No action is required to receive these payments but those who wish to receive their Assurance Package Seniors’ Bonus payments sooner should link their NRIC to PayNow, it said.

MOF said it encourages Singaporeans to link their NRIC to PayNow by Jan 26 if they have accounts with the participating banks in Singapore. By doing so, they can receive their Assurance Package Seniors’ Bonus as early as Feb 5.

Those without PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts can update their bank account information at the Assurance Package website by Jan 26 to receive payment by Feb 13.

Citizens on GovCash, which has replaced cheques as a mode of payment, can withdraw their payment at OCBC ATMs islandwide from Feb 23. An OCBC bank account is not required for withdrawals, said MOF.

The Assurance Package Medisave payments will be made by Feb 5.

Eligible citizens will be notified in February after the payments have been disbursed to them, either via their Singpass app inbox or SMS notifications for those who have registered their mobile numbers with Singpass, said MOF. CNA