Coming in August: Cash payouts of up to $850 to help Singaporeans defray GST and other living expenses

Singaporeans can look forward to cash payouts and Medisave top-ups in August.

About 1.5 million citizens will receive up to $850 in cash as part of the enhanced GST Voucher (GSTV) scheme, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in a press release on Thursday (July 4).

Those living in homes with annual values of up to $21,000 will get $850, while residents of homes with annual values of more than $21,000, and up to $25,000, will receive $450.

If you own more than one property, you are not eligible for the payout.

About 650,000 Singaporeans aged 65 and above will also enjoy top-ups of up to $450 to their MediSave accounts.

The 2024 GSTV disbursements were first announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during Budget 2023 and will amount to $1.4 billion - around $200 million more than the sum paid out to Singaporeans in 2023, said MOF.

You can check your eligibility for the GSTV benefits at govbenefits.gov.sg by logging in with your Singpass.

Those who have yet to sign up for the GSTV Scheme will be notified to do so by end-August via the Singpass app, SMS or hardcopy letters.

Eligible Singaporeans who sign up via the govbenefits website by July 9 will receive the payout in August, while those who register after this date but before June 20, 2025, will get the cash payout by the following month.

The ministry encourages citizens to link their NRIC to PayNow by July 22, which will allow them to receive their payouts in early August.

Those without PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts can also update their account information at the govbenefits website by July 26, in order to receive payments via GIRO from Aug 12.

Eligible citizens who have not done the above will get their payouts via GovCash.

They can withdraw the amount from OCBC ATMs by entering their payment reference number, which can be found at the govbenefits website, and NRIC number, along with passing a facial verification.

Eligible recipients will be notified in August once their cash or MediSave disbursements have been credited.

To safeguard against scams, recipients will be informed of their benefits via an SMS notification sent by gov.sg. They do not have to reply, click on any links or provide any information to the sender.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com