September special payout for Singaporeans: 2.4 million+ people to get SGD 200-400 as cost-of-living support

More than 2.4 million adult Singaporeans will receive SGD 200 to SGD 400 in cash under the Budget 2024 Cost-of-Living (COL) Special Payment in September 2024, with more support given to lower- to middle-income groups, according to a media release issued today by the Ministry of Finance.

Adults who own no more than one property and have annual assessable income of up to SGD 100,000 are eligible, regardless of the type of property they live in.

At Budget 2024, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong had announced an SGD 1.9 billion enhancement to the Assurance Package (AP) to help relieve cost-of-living pressures for Singaporean households. This includes additional cash for eligible adult Singaporeans; Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers for all Singaporean households; U-Save; and Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Rebate for HDB households.

Payout eligibility

Eligible recipients of the B2024 COL Special Payment will automatically receive their payments in September. Citizens may check their eligibility on the govbenefits website (https://www.govbenefits.gov.sg/) by logging in with their Singpass.

Modes of payment

Since 2021, the Singapore Ministry of Finance has been using PayNow-NRIC as the primary mode of payment for citizens who have linked their NRIC to PayNow through their bank.

PayNow-NRIC provides added convenience and privacy for citizens to receive the cash benefits in their bank account, without having to disclose their bank account details to the sender.

● Citizens are encouraged to register for PayNow-NRIC with their banks by 26 August 2024 if they have accounts with the 12 participating banks in Singapore. By doing so, eligible citizens will receive their B2024 COL Special Payment earlier, from 5 September 2024.

● Citizens without PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts but with a DBS/POSB, OCBC, or UOB bank account, may provide their bank account information at the govbenefits website by 27 August 2024. They will then receive the cash benefits via GIRO from 13 September 2024.

● Eligible citizens who have not linked their NRICs to PayNow, or provided a valid bank account will receive their cash benefits via GovCash. Citizens on GovCash may withdraw their B2024 COL Special Payment at any OCBC ATMs island-wide by entering their 1) Payment Reference Number (PRN), which can be retrieved by logging into the govbenefits website with their Singpass from 23 September 2024, 2) NRIC, and 3) passing the facial verification. They do not require an OCBC bank account to withdraw their payment at the OCBC ATMs.

● GovCash recipients can also use the LifeSG app to make payment to merchants by scanning their PayNow/NETS QR code, or transfer payment(s) to their bank account via PayNow-NRIC if they subsequently register for this service.

Singpass app notification

Eligible recipients will only be notified in September 2024, after the B2024 COL Special Payment has been credited. Citizens who have downloaded and completed their one-time setup on the Singpass app will receive notifications through their app inbox.

Those who have not downloaded or completed their one-time setup on the Singpass app but have registered their mobile numbers with Singpass will receive SMS notifications.

Scam safeguard

To safeguard against scams, the SMS notification sent by “gov.sg” will only inform citizens of their benefits. Citizens will not be asked to reply to the SMS, click any links, or provide any information to the sender. No messages about the B2024 COL Special Payment will be sent through WhatsApp or other mobile messaging platforms.