A Singaporean Guide: Grants, Subsidies and Financial Support at Every Life Stage
What does it mean to be Singaporean?
At every life stage that we go through, there are existing grants and schemes that are in place to help us with certain needs.
As we await every year’s Budget’s announcement in February, it got us thinking about all the possible grants, subsidies and financial support from the government one get to enjoy throughout their lives.
Writer’s Note: In case you are wondering, I am not a Government’s mouthpiece. But hey, free money! Nuff said.
Grant, Subsidies and Financial Support for Singaporeans
We Are Singapore, Singaporeans.
Navigating and managing the personal finance aspect of life is not an easy task. With the grants, subsidies and financial support available, a part of that burden can be offloaded.
Your Life Journey as a Singaporean (And Its Perks)
When You Are Just a Baby
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Child Development Account (CDA, dollar-for-dollar matching) | $3,000 - $15,000 |
| MediSave Grant | $4,000 |
Congrats to your parents for receiving a baby bonus when you are born! We will get to that when you become a parent in the later part of your life.
Focusing on the benefits that rightfully belong to you, you get a dollar-for-dollar matching in your bank account should your parents fully utilise the CDA benefits. If you are the first or second child the maximum Dollar-for-Dollar Matching (DCA) amount will be $3,000 for your Child Development Account. This amount will increase to $9,000 for the third and fourth child.
As for the fifth child and more, that amount increases to $15,000.
As a Singapore Citizen newborns, you will automatically get a CPF MediSave account opened for you. Your very first CPF MediSave top-up will be a $4,000 MediSave Grant for Newborns (MGN).
Your First School
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Full-day Infant Care Basic Subsidy | $600 |
| Full-day Infant Care Maximum Additional Subsidy | $40 - $710 |
| Full-day Childcare Basic Subsidy | $300 |
| Full-day Childcare Maximum Additional Subsidy | $80 - $467 |
| Kindergarten Maximum KiFAS | $21 - $170 |
Off you go, to your first school and receive your first education. Throughout this journey from infant care, child care, preschool to kindergartens, there are subsidies available for your parents. With you benefitting from it, it is only right that we attribute those subsidies to you.
There are various types of subsidies you can go for during your early childhood days:
- Full-day Infant Care Subsidies (Basic and additional)
- Full-day Childcare Subsidies (Basic and additional)
- Kindergarten Maximum KiFAS
When You Receive Education
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual Primary school Edusave Top-up | $230 |
| Annual Secondary school Edusave Top-up | $290 |
| Free Primary School Education | Worth $14,760 |
| MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) | Waiver of school fees Waiver of standard miscellaneous fee ($6.50 per month) Free textbooks and school uniform 50% off school bus fares $120 transport credit per year for public transport $2 per meal subsidy of school means (applicable to 7 meals per school week) |
Every Singapore Citizen will have an Edusave account created for them.
If you are a citizen studying in MOE-funded schools, you will receive an annual contribution to your Edusave starting from your primary school education. This annual Edusave contribution will end when you complete your secondary school education.
If you are a citizen studying in a school that is not MOE-funded, the annual Edusave contribution starts from 7 years old and ends at 16. Children enrolled in privately-funded schools, madrasahs and those home-schooled or studying abroad are entitled to this too.
Edusave account also generates an interest rate pegged to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account rate which is at 2.5% now.
On top of that, Primary school education is absolutely free for Singaporeans.
Comparing this to the $205 monthly school fees that Singapore PRs are paying, a Singaporean primary school student gets to enjoy primary school education worth $14,760 for free.
Lastly, there is a MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) for students eligible for it.
To be eligible, the student needs to be:
- A Singapore Citizen
- Attending government or government-aided schools
- From a monthly gross household income of $2,750 or less, or a monthly per capita income of $690 or less.
For Polytechnic, Universities and Arts Institutions students, there are also tuition grant schemes available depending on your course.
When Serving the Nation
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| NS Home Awards (Completion of full-time NS) | $3,000 - $3,500 into Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) $2,000 into CPF Medisave Account (MA) |
| NS Home Awards (Completion of 3 high key or 5 ORNS years) | $3,000 - $3,500 into CPF Ordinary Account (OA) $2,000 into CPF Medisave Account (MA) |
| NS Home Awards (Completion of ORNS training cycle) | $3,000 - $3,500 into CPF Ordinary Account (OA) $2,000 into CPF Medisave Account (MA) |
Serving the nation is not entirely a bad thing despite it taking up two years of your life.
On top of the ability to save a portion of your NS allowance, the National Service HOusing, Medical and Education (NS HOME) Awards that are disbursed at 3 milestones in the ORNS journey that comes with CPF OA and Medisave top-up is definitely a huge incentive.
Ready to start a family?
Getting Your First Home
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) and Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG) | Up to $80,000 Up to $40,000 (resale) |
| Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) | Up to $30,000 |
| Family Grant | Up to $50,000 |
| Singles Grant | Up to $25,000 |
Depending on the type of housing that you are going for, there are grants available to help you with the cost of getting your first home.
Assuming you are a first-time applicant of a BTO or resale, there are Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG), Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG), Family Grant and Enhanced Proximity Housing Grant to help you with the cost.
Single citizen applicants will also be eligible for Singles Grant.
Parenting
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Baby Bonus (Cash Gift) | 1st and 2nd Baby: $8,000 3rd and 4th Baby: $10,000 5th Baby and Higher: $10,000 |
Make more babies and get more baby bonus benefits. We have also mentioned the Child Development Account (CDA) benefit at the top of this article.
To make things even better, there are leaves that parents are entitled to, such as Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Share Parental Leave and Extended Child Care Leave.
When at Work or Setting up Your Own Business
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| SkillsFuture Credit Top-up | $500 (aged 25 and above) Additional $500 (aged 40 to 60) |
| Workforce Income Supplement | $1,700 - $4,000 (40% in cash, 60% in CPF) |
| Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) | Depends |
| Special Employment Credit | Depends |
| Career Support Programme (CSP) | Depends |
| SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy | Depends |
| For Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) | |
| SkillsFuture Enterprise Credits | $10,000 (For enterprise and workforce transformation) |
| Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) | Depends |
Whenever we think of self-upgrading, SkillsFuture credits immediately come to mind. Be it individual or Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) there are credits available to help you with your skills upgrading needs.
For individual benefits, there is the SkillsFuture Credit Top-up for aged 25 and above to upgrade their skills. Singaporeans aged 40 to 60 will get an additional $500 SkillsFuture Top-up.
On top of that, there are also various grants and support for the working class. Here are some examples:
- Workforce Income Supplement
For Singapore Citizen, aged 35 and above and earn a gross monthly income of not more than $2,300. - Professional Conversion Programme (PCP)
Career conversion programmes for mid-career PMETs. - Special Employment Credit
Wage offsets to employers hiring Singaporean workers aged 55 and above, and earning up to $4,000. This can help boost the re-employment of Singaporeans above re-employment age. - Career Support Programme (CSP)
Singapore Citizen Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) who are unemployed and looking for jobs for six months or more can take on new jobs paying a gross monthly salary of at least $4,000 ($3,600 for SMEs). - SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy
Encourage Singaporeans aged 40 years old and above to upskill and reskill. They can get up to 90% of their course fees subsidised.
There is also the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credits and Productivity Solution Grant (PSG) for owners of a Small and Medium Enterprise(SME).
GST Vouchers
These are the GST Voucher benefits that Singaporeans can look forward to, for the year 2020.
| GST Voucher Component | How Much Will I Get? | Who Is Eligible? | When Is The Payout? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate | Off set 1.5 to 3.5 months of S&CC | Eligible Singaporean households living in HDB flats | Apr, Jul, Oct 2021, Jan 2022 |
| U-Save | $235 to $395 | HDB households with at least 1 Singaporean | Apr, Jul, Oct 2021, Jan 2022 |
| U-Save | $330 to $570 | Eligible Singaporean households | Over the next 3 years |
| Cash (Regular Payment) | $700 to $1,600 | Eligible Singaporeans | Over the next 5 years |
| GST Voucher (GSTV) | $600 to $900 | Eligible seniors | Over the next 3 years |
| CDC Vouchers | $400 | Eligible Singaporeans households | Over 2023 and 2024 |
| MediSave Top-up | $450 | Singaporean Children aged 20 and below Singaporeans seniors aged 55 and above | Over the next 3 years |
Now, something that everyone looks forward to, with every Budget. GST Vouchers can be broken down into various types of benefits:
- Cash Payout
- MediSave Top-up
- U-Save
All of it to help Singaporeans offset the increasing cost of living in Singapore.
After You Retire
| Grant, Subsidies and Financial Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (Implementing in 2021) | $600 per year |
| Pioneer Generation Package | MediSave top-ups annually for life, which range from $200-$800 depending on birth cohort. (More for older cohorts) 40% - 60% off MediShield Life premiums and many more... |
| Merdeka generation Package | $1,000 MediSave Top-ups ($200 top-up every year for 5 years) $100 top-up to Passion Silver Cards to be used for public transport, entry to public swimming pools, activities at Community Centres etc. and many more... |
| Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) | Subsidies for GP and dental clinics under CHAS |
| Comcare Long Term Assistance | Depends |
| National Silver Academy (NSA) | Course at up to 50% subsidies |
| Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) | $200 per month |
Most Singaporeans would suggest that Singapore may not be the best country to retire in. Over the past years, we do see some initiatives being rolled out (though not perfect), to help Singaporeans retire better in Singapore.
To help us age and retire graciously, here are some of the benefits in place. As the packages and subsidies change from time to time, it is important to keep track of some of these initiatives that will affect us or our loved ones.
In short, free money, just take!
The System: The Good and The Bad
While creating this list of possible benefits, we realised that there is actually quite a bit of assistance out there.
While it is rather positive that there are grants, subsidies and benefits for almost every life stage for a Singaporean. Should you get a grasp of all the policies that you are entitled to, it can definitely help you save quite a big amount of money.
On the flip side, these schemes can be difficult to comprehend and hard to find. Hence, a lot more needs to be done on the social outreach and education front.
A lot of these schemes focus on extending the working lifespan of a worker. While this is great for the economy, it reduces the utility curve of a Singaporean. Not everyone will buy in the idea of re-employment if given a choice.
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