Low-Income Families and Parents: Where Can You Get Financial Help?

The current economic climate has shaken the core of financial stability in many individuals.

In such situations, low-income families tend to be placed in financially stressful situations, where jobs become more uncertain too.

While losing a job is difficult for everyone, it becomes particularly stressful for families who struggle to pay for day-to-day expenses.

Especially the high costs when it comes to having a child in Singapore.

In order to help families and parents, there have been various initiatives rolled out to provide financial assistance.

As they are all over the internet, we decided to compile it into a list, for easy reference.

Do note that different schemes have different eligibility criteria, so be sure to check before applying! 🙂

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TL;DR: Lower-Income or Needy Families and Parents: Where Can You Get Help?

Schemes Under ComCare

ComCare is a fund by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) that provides social assistance for low-income individuals and families.

Under ComCare, there are different schemes available to suit different needs.

For Parents

Child Development Account (CDA) First Step Grant

The Child Development Account (CDA) First Step grant is one that disburses $3,000 upfront into a child’s CDA.

For the uninitiated, the CDA is a special savings account for all Singaporean children, and is opened automatically when the child joins the Baby Bonus scheme.

Single parents are also eligible for this grant too!

Application details can be found here.

KidSTART

KidSTART is a programme for children from low-income families to allow them to have a good start in life.

It provides new forms of support for child development, from birth onwards.

This programme has three main components – KidSTART Home Visitation, KidSTART Groups (Supported Playgroups), and KidSTART Enhanced Support to Pre-schools.

To qualify:

• Singapore Citizen children aged up to 6 years old ​
• Low-income household (Monthly household income of $2,500 and below)
• Residing in one of the pilot regions​ (Kreta Ayer/Bukit Merah, Taman Jurong/Boon Lay and Geylang Serai)

Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA)​

The Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA)​ is for low-income families with difficult family circumstances, where there is difficulty in affording childcare fees even after the basic and additional subsidies.

In addition, there is an application for a one-time grant to cover the initial start-up costs of enrolling a child in the centre too.

To qualify:

• Child should be a Singapore citizen
• Enrolled in an affordable Child Care Centre
• Both parents should also be working at least 56 hours per month
• If parents are not working, to produce valid reasons for not working (e.g. on medical leave, under incarceration, or certified as a full-time caregiver)

Once eligible, parents can apply for this assistance via the child care centre.

Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS)

The Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) helps parents in their children’s kindergarten fees.

To qualify:

• Children must be Singapore citizens attending kindergarten programmes
• Have a gross monthly household income is $12,000 and below

Eligible low-income families may also apply for a yearly grant to cover the start-up costs of enrolling their children in the kindergarten.

Details of the amount of subsidies can be found here.

Application for KiFAS can be done through the kindergarten.

Student Care Fee Assistance (SCFA)

To enhance the affordability of student care for families who require after-school care for their child, a Student Care Fee Assistance (SCFA) scheme was introduced.

To qualify:

• Both parents are working at least 56 hours per month
• Total gross monthly household income is $4,500 or less, or total gross monthly household per capita income is $1,125 or less
• Child is 7 – 14 years of age
• Child attends a MSF-registered Student Care Centre
• Child is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident (at least one immediate family member in the same household must be a Singapore Citizen)

Benefits include:

• Monthly subsidy, with the amount dependent on the monthly household income
• A one-off Start-Up Grant of up to $400 per child

This scheme is also applicable for children with disabilities for Special Student Care Centres (SSCC).

For Housing

Fresh Start Housing Scheme (Fresh Start)

The Fresh Start Housing Scheme (Fresh Start) is a scheme that aims to assist second-timer families with young children, and are currently living in public rental flats.

This scheme aims to help them in buying a short-lease 2-room Flexi flat through the provision of financial and social support.

Some key features of this scheme include:

More details and eligibility criteria can be found here.

Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme

The Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme aims to help small low-income families through the provision of support in different areas such as employment, housing, and monetary support.

Some assistance provided include:

Training and Employment

• Training Incentives – $2,000 every 2 years (up to 3 tranches and up to $6,000 in total) to families who complete training courses that lead to better employment
• Employment Incentives – Up to $10,000 incentives for full-time working mothers disbursed in an annual amount of $1,000 up to 10 years.

Housing and Utilities

• Conditional Housing Grant – $60,000 disbursed in annual installments of $3,000 into the mother’s CPF account
• Utilities Grant – $1,000 to help the family offset once-off grant to offset utilities bills (one-off)

Support for Children and Families

• Education Bursaries – Annual bursaries of up to $3,000 for each child attending pre-school to university to help pay for their educational expenses
• Mentoring and Family Support – Mentoring services to provide support and guide families as they work towards upgrading themselves

The eligibility criteria is as below:

To apply for this scheme, individuals can head to the nearest Social Service Office (SSG) to do so.

There are also other ComCare schemes to suit short- to long-term financial needs.

ComCare Short-To-Medium-Term Assistance

The ComCare Short-To-Medium-Term Assistance fund provides temporary assistance for individuals who are unable to find work for a period of time, and therefore requires temporary financial help.

To qualify:

• In the midst of looking for work, or temporarily unable to work due to illness or having to care for dependants
• Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident (at least one immediate family member in the same household must be a Singapore Citizen)
• Monthly household income of $1,900 and below or a per capita income of $650 and below

If you have exceeded in income according to these guidelines, you can still approach the Social Service Offices (SSOs) if you require financial help.

Assessment will be done on a case-by-case basis.

Once approved, you may receive:

• Monthly cash assistance
• Assistance with household bills, i.e. rental, utilities, and/or service and conservancy charges
• Medical assistance​
• Employment assistance such as job search and/or training
• Referrals for other relevant services

ComCare Long-Term Assistance

Also known as public assistance, the Comcare long-term assistance is for individuals who are unable to work permanently.

To qualify:

• Unable to work because of old age, illness or disability
• Have little or no financial support, savings and assets for daily needs
• Elderly persons who receive only a small monthly payout from other sources such as CPF Retirement Sum / CPF Life, and the monthly payout is lower than the prevailing LTA rates
• Elderly persons whose children are low-income themselves, i.e have a household income of $1,900 and below, or per capita household income of $650 and below
• Singapore Citizen or a Permanent Resident

Types of assistance provided:

• Support for daily living expenses (cash)
• Additional assistance for school-going children
• Recurring essentials such as medical or hygiene consumables
• One-off essentials such as medical equipment or household appliances
• Medical assistance
• Education assistance
• Supplementary community assistance

Details to apply for both short-to-medium term and long-term assistance can be found here.

ComCare Interim Assistance

For any households that require urgent and immediate help for less than 3 months, the Interim Assistance scheme might be of great help.

To qualify:

• Have a household income of $1,900 and below, or a per capita household income of $650 and below
• Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident (at least one immediate family member in the same household must be a Singapore Citizen)

For this scheme, the assistance provided would be through:

• Cash
• Food rations
• Vouchers

The type, amount, and duration of the assistance will depend on the situation of your household.

There are a few locations to apply for this scheme:

Source: Ministry of Social and Family Development

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Organisations Offering Financial Aid

Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC)

 

The Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) is a non-profit group that aims to help the less-privileged Chinese community in Singapore.

It offers programmes and assistance schemes ranging from academic support to parent education.

Some of its initiatives include:

• Tuition & Enrichment Programme
• Holiday Programmes
• Project Aspirar (Career guidance)
• CDAC – SFCCA Bursary
• CDAC – SFCCA Hardship Assistance Fund Scheme

For needy families, CDAC offers the CDAC Family Assistance Programme, which helps families cope with their basic living and education needs of their children.

This assistance may include:

• Financial assistance in essential household bills, such as rental, utilities, childcare fee, student care fee, etc.
• Grocery vouchers to cope with daily living needs
• Guidance in job search and skills upgrading
• Enrichment programmes for children
• Family bonding activities

To qualify:

• Applicant or at least family member, who lives in the same household, is a Chinese Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident
• Gross monthly household income not exceeding $2,400 or gross per capita income not exceeding $800

Interested candidates can check out the range of programmes and initiatives offered here.

MENDAKI-MUIS

The MENDAKI-MUIS Preschool Grant (MMPG) is targeted to low-income families with children below 6 years old who are enrolled in preschool.

It aims to lower the cost barriers for entry to preschool, and assist mothers to return to and remain employed.

This grant encourages a-dollar-a-day saving in the CDA, as elaborated below:

The application for this grant runs from April 2020 to Jan 2023.

Eligible candidates can download the form and forward it to the emails indicated here.

Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA)

The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) was established in 1991 to help the Indian community in Singapore.

While its main focus is on education, it also provides a wide range of services to support parents and help families in need.

SINDA offers a wide range of initiatives targetted to help low-income families through different means.

This ranges from one-time cash assistance, to multiple payouts to families requiring greater financial support.

Beyond financial aid, SINDA also recognises the other struggles faced by the community.

As such, it also offers help such as counselling services and career support.

Interested individuals can find out more details here.

Singapore Teochew Foundation (STF)

The Singapore Teochew Foundation (STF) provides short term financial help for Singaporeans, especially those in the Teochew Community.

It currently runs an STF Hardship Assistance Scheme, which aims to assist Singaporean families when they lose the support of their sole or main breadwinner due to unforeseen circumstances.

This scheme is open to all Singaporeans, but priority would be given to the Teochew community.

It offers help of up to 6 consecutive months, with its length being based on a case-by-case review.