Budget 2025: Singaporean households to get S$800 in CDC vouchers, up to S$760 in utilities rebates

SINGAPORE: Every Singaporean household will ​get S$800 (US$600) in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers to help offset rising costs, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday (Feb 18).

The first S$500 in vouchers will be disbursed in May and the remaining S$300 in January next year. As with previous CDC vouchers, half can be used at participating supermarkets, while the other half can be spent at heartland merchants and hawkers.

The CDC vouchers scheme is expected to cost the government S$1.06 billion this financial year.

Additionally, households will receive up to S$760 in U-Save rebates – double the regular amount – to help with their utilities expenses, said Mr Wong during the national Budget speech.

The rebates will cover about six months of utilities bills for those living in one- and two-room flats, and three months for those in three- and four-room flats.

These rebates, which will go to more than 950,000 Singaporean households, will be disbursed in April and October, supplementing the S$1.1 billion cost-of-living support package announced in September 2023.

Parents with children aged 12 and below will also get additional support for household expenses in the form of S$500 in LifeSG credits per Singaporean child.

"These credits are the same as the LifeSG credits given to all national servicemen last year. Parents can use them to defray household expenses such as groceries, utilities and pharmacy items," said Mr Wong.

For those aged 13 to 20, a S$500 top-up will be added to their Edusave account or Post-Secondary Education Account to help with government-approved educational expenses. 

SUPPORT FOR THE LOWER-INCOME

Additional assistance will be available to those facing greater financial hardship.

To better support lower-income families, the government will raise ComCare Assistance scheme payouts. A one-person household on long-term assistance, for instance, will get an extra S$120 a month, bringing the total cash assistance to S$760 a month.

Those on short-to-medium-term assistance will also get an increase in payouts based on their household composition, needs and income, said the prime minister.

The Singapore Allowance, an ex-gratia payment to help pensioners with a small pension cope with inflation, will be raised from S$350 to S$390 a month. The allowance is on top of their basic pension amounts. 

The monthly pension ceiling will also increase by S$40 to S$1,320.

"Through the ComCare Interim Assistance scheme, we will also provide more support for community organisations to help households in need," said Mr Wong.