Financial relief arrives as the government steps in to offset GST hike and rising living costs.
SINGAPORE — In a move to alleviate the financial burden caused by the recent goods and services tax (GST) hike, approximately 950,000 households living in Housing Board flats will receive up to $190 in GSTV-U-Save rebates starting in January. This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to address the rising cost of living for Singaporeans.
The rebates will be disbursed quarterly—specifically in April, July, October, and January—during the current financial year, which concludes in March 2023. Eligible households will receive double their usual U-Save rebates this year. The Ministry of Finance announced that households residing in one- and two-bedroom flats will receive the highest rebate of $190, while those in three-room flats will get $170. Households in four-room flats will receive $150, and those in five-room flats will get $130. Residents of executive or multi-generational flats will receive $110.
This rebate effectively covers eight to ten months’ worth of utility bills for an average household in a one- or two-room flat, or four to six months for households in three- or four-room flats. The U-Save rebates will be credited directly into utility accounts managed by SP Services.
In addition to the U-Save rebates, households in one- to five-room flats will also receive 0.5 months’ worth of GSTV rebates for service and conservancy charges (S&CC), which will be credited in January to their respective town councils’ S&CC accounts.
These rebates are part of the government’s permanent GSTV scheme and the Assurance Package, which received a $1.4 billion boost in November to support Singaporeans facing the upcoming GST increase from 7% to 8% starting in January. The total value of the Assurance Package is now $8 billion.
Further relief measures will be introduced in the first two months of 2023. Starting January 3, every Singaporean household will receive $300 in Community Development Council vouchers—comprising $200 from the Assurance Package and an additional $100 from the $1.5 billion Support Package announced in October 2022. These vouchers can be used at participating heartland merchants, hawkers, and supermarkets.
In February 2023, lower-income Singaporeans aged 55 and above will receive up to $300 in cash and $150 in their CPF MediSave accounts, while Singaporean children aged 20 and below will also receive $150 in their MediSave accounts.
