The Assurance Package (AP) was first announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in February this year.
Earlier in Nov, the DPM announced that the AP will be increased by S$1.4 billion, making it a total of S$8 billion to help the majority of Singaporeans offset the GST expenses for at least five years.
AP will offset the GST hike for the majority of Singaporean households for at least five years, with around ten years for the lower-income.
This is separate from the various rounds of support packages that help Singaporeans deal with cost of living pressures.
The support at a glance
To help Singaporeans understand what makes up the AP, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) published an informative video recently.
At just 90 seconds long, it is definitely worth your time.
AP comprises of cash payouts, Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers, additional GST Voucher (GSTV) – U-Save, and MediSave top-ups — all these will be disbursed over five years starting December 2022.
Payouts in December
Up to 2.9 million adult Singaporeans will receive AP Cash and Cost-of-Living (COL) Special Payment in December 2022. The COL Special Payout is part of the support package that will cushion cost of living pressures.
MOF said that the AP Cash and COL Special Payment will be disbursed together in December 2022, with eligible Singaporeans receiving up to S$700 in total.
Other benefits
January 2023:
Additional of up to S$95 GSTV – U-Save to help offset utility bills for eligible HDB households. This is on top of the regular GSTV – U-Save under the permanent GSTV scheme of up to S$95 for eligible households.
Every Singaporean household will receive a total of S$300 CDC Vouchers. This comprises S$200 CDC Vouchers under the AP and S$100 CDC Vouchers from the S$1.5 billion Support Package announced in October 2022. The CDC Vouchers can be used at participating heartland merchants and hawkers, and supermarkets.
February 2023:
Lower-income senior Singaporeans will receive up to S$300 cash, under the GSTV – Cash (Seniors’ Bonus)
Eligible seniors aged 55 years and above, and children aged 20 years and below will receive S$150 in their CPF MediSave Account under the AP MediSave.
For more info, click here.
