Budget 2024: A Wrap-up

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced all the financial measures taken by the government to help both Singaporeans and businesses in his Budget speech on February 16.

From providing financial aid to seniors and families in need to attempting to level up employees’ skill sets to improve competitiveness and employability outcomes, this article has you covered with all the information you might need.

Contents

Disbursement Calendar: Benefits Overview

According to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the benefits are to be disbursed in the following order, spanning from April 2024 to March 2025.

Month of the Year
Benefits to be Released

April 2024
U-Save

S&CC Rebate

June 2024
CDC Vouchers

July 2024
U-Save

S&CC Rebate

Aug 2024
Cash

CPF Medisave Account

September 2024
Cash

October 2024
U-Save

S&CC Rebate

November 2024
NSmen LifeSF Credits

December 2024
Cash

CPF Medisave Account

CPF Retirement or Special Account

January 2025
U-Save

S&CC Rebate

CDC Vouchers

February 2025
CPF Medisave Account

Senior’ Bonus

March 2025
CPF Retirement or Special Account

Note: The benefits mentioned are dependent on your eligibility based on factors such as age and income.

Support for Singaporean Individuals and Families

A wide range of initiatives target different groups of individuals and families, all aiming to improve their spending power amidst rocket-high inflation rates and strengthen employees’ skill sets to enhance competitiveness and employability.

Individuals

From cash and Medisave bonuses to tax rebates and reductions, individuals can expect to pay less tax in the upcoming year, with extra cash flow to increase spending power so that it will be less stressful to cope with inflation.

Cash Reimbursement: All individuals will receive a one-time cash payment of between SGD $200 and $400

Property Tax Reduction: The annual value bands of owner-occupier residential property tax rates will be increased. Homeowners can expect to pay the same or lower property tax bills for each AV level.

Tax Rebate: Personal income tax rebate of 50% for the Year of Assessment 2024, capped at SGD $200.

Temporary Support Scheme: Financial assistance to those who are involuntarily unemployed, including those who have been laid off.

Medisave Bonus: All Singaporeans aged 21 to 50 will be given a one-time MediSave Bonus of up to SGD $300 (up to SGD $1,500 for those born before 1973 under the Mujalah Package)

Adjustment to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD): Single Singaporeans aged 55 or above will be able to claim a refund of ABSD paid on their replacement private property if they sell their first property within six months of purchasing a lower-value private property.

*National service workers (NSmen) will also receive SGD $200 in Life SG credits on top of the above benefits, as a reward for their contribution to the government’s operation.

Lower-income Families/ Families with Special Needs

Certain families are entitled to financial support for preschool and childcare so that parents have an easier time paying for necessary childcare and preschool and can focus on their work. There are a series of initiatives by the government, listed below:

Eligible Housing & Development Board (HDB) households will also receive additional one-off U-Save and S&CC rebates
Preschools are made more affordable and the government has started to provide enhanced preschool subsidies
Full-day childcare fee caps are reduced to SGD $640 for anchor operators and SGD $680 for partner operators
There is more help for families who have members with special needs or disabilities. For children, the maximum monthly fees at special education schools and care centers will be reduced to SGD $90 from SGD $150.
Families with urgent housing needs, such as those who are waiting for their build-to-order (BTO) flats, can receive a Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (Open Market) voucher for a year to support them in renting an HDB flat in the open market.

Seniors

For seniors approaching retirement age, the prospect of higher monthly payouts from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, brought about by reforms to the system and an increase to the retirement sum, may provide some much-needed financial security.

Changes to the CPF system: Increase CPF contribution rates for those aged 55 to 65 by a further 1.5% points in 2025.

Rise in Enhanced Retirement Sum: It is the maximum amount you can put into your CPF Retirement Accounts to get CPF payouts. The sum will be raised in 2025 to four times the Basic Retirement Sum (SGD $426,000).

Starting next year, the government will close the Special Accounts of people aged 55 or above and the savings will be transferred to their Retirement Account up to the Full Retirement Sum. The remaining savings will be transferred to the Ordinary Account.

Support for Business Development and Growth

To manage rising business costs, the government pulled out SGD $1.3 billion for the Enterprise Support Package to relieve the budget concerns of Singaporean business owners.

The package comprises:

50% Corporate Income Tax Rebate, capped at SGD $40,000 for the year of assessment 2024
Minimum benefit of SGD $2,000 in cash for each local employee employed in 2023
Enhance the Enterprise Financing Scheme

What’s more, the government has also invested billions to strengthen the competitive advantages of Singapore’s local enterprises through research and innovation, and emerging technologies, notably AI, by upgrading the Nationwide Broadband Network to 10 Gbps.

Investment in Human Resources

A SGD $4,000 top-up in SkillsFuture Credits for all Singaporeans aged 40 or above. The younger workforce can also receive this top-up credit upon reaching the required age, to support them in pursuing full-time career-oriented courses for career advancement.

Training allowance equivalent to 50% of one’s average income over the last 12-month period, capped at SGD $3,000 per month. Every individual can receive up to 24 months of training allowance throughout their lifetime. The allowance could be used for selected full-time courses.

Note: Flexible use of the credits is encouraged, with the ultimate goal of reskilling or upskilling for better employability outcomes.

Society’s Sustainability

In order to promote a sustainable society and citizen unity, the government has also invested a large sum into the following:

Conclusion

After the announcement of the Singapore Budget 2024, the initiatives revealed the government’s effort and dedication to helping Singaporeans with their cost-of-living concerns and relieving citizen’s pressure to live in the most expensive country in Asia.

As a side note, health insurance is an economical choice in the long run to access quality healthcare in Singapore. Should you have any inquiries on all things insurance, do not hesitate to contact our team of insurance experts today for impartial advice or an obligation-free quote!

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