THE government is allocating an additional S$3 billion to the Assurance Package (AP), introduced to help Singaporeans cope with the impact of the hike in goods and services tax (GST).

The money will be distributed in the form of cash, account top-ups, rebates and Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers. The increase brings the size of the AP to S$9.6 billion.

Some of the money will go towards increasing the cash payout due under the AP by between S$300 and S$650 for eligible Singaporeans over the remaining years of the package. This would bring the payments received by adult Singaporeans to between S$700 and S$2,250 over five years, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Feb 14).

CDC Vouchers will be increased by S$100 in 2024, meaning Singaporean households will get another S$300 of vouchers in January.

The government had earlier set out to offset additional GST expenses for at least five years for the majority of households, and for about 10 years for lower-income households.

“But I recognise that many Singaporeans are still concerned about the immediate cost-of-living issues,” said Wong, during his Budget speech delivered in Parliament.

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Additional one-off measures will be introduced this year, including a Cost-of-Living Special Payment of between S$200 and S$400 for eligible adult Singaporeans. Those aged 55 and above will get an additional bonus of between S$200 and S$300.

U-Save Rebates provided to households will be doubled over the next three tranches of disbursements this year. Eligible households can expect to receive up to S$760 in rebates in 2023.

For households with children, a top-up of S$400 to the Child Development Account will be given for each child aged six and below.

Each older child gets a top-up of S$300 to their Edusave account, or Post-Secondary Education Account.