Singapore to give 3M adults up to $460 cash aid in December to offset living costs

The city-state’s Ministry of Finance said on Friday that the payments "help defray living expenses for Singaporean households and provide more support for lower- to middle-income families," as reported by The Business Times.

The ministry said those who link their National Registration Identity Card to PayNow by Nov. 23 will receive their payouts first, by Dec. 5.

Those without a PayNow-linked NRIC but have a DBS, POSB, OCBC or UOB bank account can submit their details on the GovBenefits website by Nov. 29 to receive the payment via Giro by Dec. 16.

Those without both a linked PayNow NRIC and a valid bank account will get the payout through GovCash by Dec. 22.

To be eligible, citizens must be 21 or older in 2026 and residing in Singapore, according to the official GovBenefits website.

The payout amount depends on each recipient’s number of properties owned and assessable income, which is total income less allowable deductions. The December 2025 payment will be determined using assessable income for the Year of Assessment 2024, which reflects earnings in 2023.

Those who own more than one property or have an assessable income of over S$100,000 will receive S$100. Those with an income of S$39,000 or less will receive the maximum payout of S$600.

The finance ministry noted that eligible recipients will be informed by SMS carrying the gov.sg sender ID or a letter if they do not have a Singpass-registered mobile number, according to The Straits Times.

These cash payments, part of the expanded Assurance Package introduced in Budget 2023, are disbursed to eligible Singaporeans every December from 2022 to 2026.

"In total, eligible Singaporeans will receive between S$700 and S$2,250 of Assurance Package cash over these five years," the ministry said, as quoted by Channel News Asia.