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SINGAPORE: It's bonus time again for low-wage workers.
The second and final tranche of the Workfare Bonus - ranging from $75 to $600, will be paid on 1st May 2007, and the Manpower Ministry urges all those who qualify to declare their income by 1st April.
The Workfare Bonus Scheme was part of the Progress Package announced by the government last year.
90 percent of the bonus will be paid in cash, while the remaining 10 percent will go into the recipient's CPF Medisave Account to help build up savings for healthcare needs.
The scheme rewards older, low-wage Singaporeans for staying in regular, productive work.
More than 340,000 low wage workers who worked at least 6 months in 2005 received the first portion of the bonus last year, and S$157m was paid out.
This year, the same criteria apply.
To qualify for the Workfare Bonus, workers must be a Singapore citizen, aged 40 and above as at 31st December 2006.
The worker - employed or self-employed, should have worked at least 6 months last year, earning an average monthly income of no more than $1,500.
The annual value of the property that he or she lives in should also not be more than $10,000 as at 31st December 2006.
To get their bonus this year, they must also have signed for the Progress Package last year.
No application or declaration is needed for employees who earned more than $50 a month.
Their Workfare bonus will be credited directly into their bank account or paid via cheque according to the mode of payment the worker picked last year.
For the self-employed, they should receive their Income Tax Return by 1 March and if they declare their net trade income by 1st April, they will get their bonus on 1st May.
As for those who worked, but do not have CPF contributions and have not received an Income Tax Return by 1st March, they can apply by filling in the Workfare Bonus Declaration Form.
The form will be available at 31 Community Centres and Clubs and all 5 CPF Service Centres from 1 February until 1st April.
The last day for declaring income for Workfare Bonus Scheme 2007 is 30th June 2007. - CNA /dt
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