To encourage more Singaporeans to give back and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) to reach out to more donors, the
Government will set aside a budget of $200 million for the BCF. The BCF will provide dollar-for-dollar matching for donations garnered by IPCs in FY2019.1 The amount matched for each IPC will be capped to ensure that more IPCs can
benefit from the BCF.
GST Voucher – Cash (Bicentennial Payment) & Workfare Bicentennial Bonus
Lower-income Singaporeans will receive additional payments from the GST Voucher (GSTV) and Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) schemes in end 2019 to help them with their daily living expenses.
- Up to $300 in GSTV – Cash (Bicentennial Payment) (see Table 1). This will benefit about 1.4 million Singaporeans.
- Workfare Bicentennial Bonus at 10% of the total annual payment received under WIS for Work Year 2018, with a minimum payment of $100 (see Table 2).
These additional payments will cost about $500 million.
Table 1: GST Voucher – Cash (Bicentennial Payment)
|
Aged 21 and above in 2019
|
$300
|
$150
|
Note: The other eligibility criteria for GST Voucher – Cash also apply to GST Voucher – Cash
(Bicentennial Payment).
Table 2: Workfare Bicentennial Bonus
|
35 to 44
|
Between $100 and $150
|
$100
|
|
45 to 54
|
Between $100 and $220
|
Between $100 and $147
|
|
55 to 59
|
Between $100 and $290
|
Between $100 and $194
|
|
60 and above
|
Between $100 and $360
|
Between $100 and $240
|
Notes:
- The Workfare Bicentennial Bonus for self-employed persons is at two-thirds of the amount for employees.
- Persons with disabilities below age 35 in 2018 and meet the WIS eligibility criteria will also receive between $100 and $150 based on work done in 2018.
Personal Income Tax Rebate
A Personal Income Tax Rebate of 50% of tax payable will be granted to all tax resident individuals for the Year of Assessment 2019 (i.e. for income earned in 2018). The rebate will be capped at $200 per taxpayer. This is estimated to cost
about $280 million.
Top-up to Edusave Accounts and Post-Secondary Education Accounts
In 2019, the Government will provide younger Singaporeans with additional support for their education. There will be a one-off top-up to their Edusave accounts or Post-Secondary Education Accounts (PSEA), depending on their age. The
top-up to the Edusave accounts is in addition to the annual Edusave contributions that the Government makes.
The top-ups are expected to be made by mid-2019. This is estimated to cost about $140 million and benefit about 570,000 students.
Table 3: Edusave and PSEA Top-ups for Singaporeans aged 7 to 20
|
7 to 16
|
Edusave
|
$150
|
|
17 to 20
|
PSEA
|
$500
|
$250
|
CPF Top-up
The Government will make a one-off top-up to the CPF Special or Retirement Account of lower-income Singaporeans with low CPF balances to help them build up their CPF savings.
This top-up is estimated to cost about $230 million and benefit about 300,000 citizens, the majority of whom will be females.
Table 4: CPF Top-up
|
50 to 54
|
$500
|
$300
|
|
55 to 64
|
$1,000
|
$600
|
Notes:
- Eligibility criteria:
- Assessable Income for Year of Assessment 2018 not more than $28,000
- Annual Value of home as at 31 Dec 2018 not more than $21,000
- Do not own more than one property
- For CPF members aged 50 to 55 in 2019
- For CPF members aged 56 to 64 in 2019