The COVID-19 situation has affected many of our jobs and livelihoods. To provide relief and assistance to Singaporeans, the Government has introduced various budget and relief schemes to provide financial support during this time:
Temporary Relief Fund
The Temporary Relief Fund is a one-off interim assistance scheme to help Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) who have lost their jobs, or a substantial portion of their income due to COVID-19. It is only available in April 2020.
Eligibility criteria for the Temporary Relief Fund includes:
- Singapore Citizens or PRs aged 16 years and above
- Loss of job or at least 30% of personal income due to COVID-19 (after 23 Jan 2020)
- Prior gross monthly household income of ≤$10,000, or monthly per capita income of ≤$3,100
- Not on ComCare assistance
The Temporary Relief Fund is a one-off $500 cash assistance. It is only available in April 2020. You can apply for it online, or at a Social Service Office (SSO), or a Community Centre/Club (CC). The application period is from 1 April to 30 April 2020.
Do note you will need to provide your NRIC (for SSOs and CCs), letter of retrenchment or termination of contract, and relevant documents showing reduction in income due to COVID-19.
If you have applied for the Temporary Relief Fund, you will be notified of the outcome via SMS or phone call. You will also receive a notification from the PayNow service when the assistance has been credited to your account. If you do not have a PayNow account, you will be notified by the CC to collect the cheque in about 2 to 3 weeks.
COVID-19 Support Grant
The COVID-19 Support Grant is a scheme to help Singapore Citizens and PRs who are unemployed due to retrenchment or contract termination as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19.
Eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 Support Grant includes:
- Singapore Citizens or PRs aged 16 years and above
- Loss of job due to COVID-19; previously employed as full-time/part-time permanent or contract staff
- Prior gross monthly household income of ≤$10,000, or monthly per capita income of ≤$3,100
- Live in a property with annual value of ≤$21,000
- Not on ComCare assistance
- Must agree to actively participate in job search or attend a training programme under Workforce Singapore (WSG) or the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i)
The COVID-19 Support Grant provides a monthly cash grant of $800 for 3 months ($2,400 in total), which is credited to your bank account. You will also receive job and training support by WSG or e2i, which you must agree to actively participate in.
You can apply for the COVID-19 Support Grant online or at any SSO or CC. The application period is from 1 May to 30 Sep 2020. Details for the online application form will be available at a later date. You will need to provide your NRIC, bank account number, and letter of retrenchment or termination of contract.
The Courage Fund
The Courage Fund has a scheme to help lower-income households whose family member(s) have contracted COVID-19, or are on Stay-Home Notice (SHN), mandatory Leave of Absence (LOA), or Home Quarantine Order (HQO).
Eligibility criteria for the Courage Fund includes:
- Households with at least one Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident whose family member(s) have contracted COVID-19, or are on SHN, mandatory LOA, or HQO
- Loss of complete or partial (at least 10%) household income due to COVID-19
- Prior household income of $3,900, or per capita household income of $1,350
- ComCare clients may apply
The Courage Fund provides a one-time lump sum of up to $1,000 (depending on the household's per capita income after being affected by COVID-19), which is credited to your bank account. Do note that the relief is provided per household, not per individual.
You can apply for The Courage Fund at any SSO. Applications should be made within 6 months from the end of the SHN, LOA, HQO, or discharge from hospitalisation due to COVID-19, whichever is later. You will need to provide your NRIC, bank account number, proof of SHN / LOA / HQO / hospitalisation due to COVID-19, relevant documents showing reduction in income as a result of COVID-19 (e.g. payslips before and after).
Care & Support Package
The Care & Support Package provides cash payouts, grocery vouchers, PAssion Card top ups, additional GST Vouchers, Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate to support families.
Eligibility criteria for the Care & Support Package includes:
- Care and Support – Cash: all Singaporeans aged 21 and above
- Grocery Voucher: Singaporeans aged 21 and above, who live in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats and do not own more than one property
- PAssion Card Top Up: all Singaporeans aged 50 and above
- GST Voucher – U-Save: lower and middle-income Singaporeans
- Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate: Singaporean households living in HDB flats
The Care & Support Package will see Singaporeans receive a one-off Care and Support – Cash payout of $300 to $900, depending on their income. Those who own more than one property will receive $300, regardless of their income. Parents, with at least one Singaporean child aged 20 years and below in 2020, will each receive an additional $300 in cash.
Eligible Singaporeans will also receive an additional $200 of Grocery Vouchers in 2020, and Singaporeans aged 50 years and above in 2020 will receive a $100 PAssion Card Top-up. Households will receive between $480 to $1000 GST Voucher depending on HDB flat type and number of household members.
Solidarity Payment
The Solidarity Payment is a cash payout for every adult Singaporean to protect livelihoods, and most of us should have already received the first tranche earlier this month.
Eligibility criteria for the Solidarity Payment includes:
- Adult Singaporeans aged 21 and above
The Solidarity Budget will see each adult Singaporean receive an additional $300 cash payout, on top of the $300 to $900 cash payment of the Care and Support package.
You do not need to apply for the Care & Support Package and Solidarity Budget.
How will I know of the application status of each financial scheme?
If you have applied for the Temporary Relief Fund, you will be notified of the outcome via SMS or phone call. You will also receive a notification from the PayNow service when the assistance has been credited to your account. If you do not have a PayNow account, you will be notified by the CC to collect the cheque in about 2 to 3 weeks.
If you have applied for the COVID-19 Support Grant or The Courage Fund, you will be notified of the outcome about 2 to 3 weeks upon submission of supporting documents.
Majority of eligible citizens will receive their Solidarity Payment directly in the bank account they had previously provided to the Government, by 14 April 2020. The rest will receive cheques, which will be issued in stages starting from 30 April 2020. Eligible citizens who have registered their mobile number with SingPass will receive notification of the payment via SMS, from 15 April 2020.
Eligible Singaporeans will receive their PAssion Card top-up together with the remaining Care and Support – Cash (if eligible) in June 2020. You will receive notification of their payment via SMS and hardcopy letter, from June 2020.
The 2020 Grocery Vouchers will be given to eligible citizens in October and December 2020. The vouchers will be delivered to the NRIC-registered address via mail.
Where can I find more details?
For more details of the various support schemes, go to the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) website.
For details of the other schemes under The Courage Fund, which include those to support dependants of individuals who contract COVID-19, healthcare workers, frontline workers and community volunteers who contract the virus in the course of duty, go to the National Council of Social Service's (NCSS) website.
To learn more about the Care and Support Package, refer to their FAQ page here.