SINGAPORE — Cash payouts for Singaporeans to help with expenses during the Covid-19 pandemic will be tripled from what was announced during February’s Budget.

This means that all adult Singaporeans will receive between S$300 and S$900 depending on their income level, up from the range of S$100 to S$300 originally announced.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced this in Parliament on Thursday (March 26) as part of the S$48 billion Resilience Budget.

“Many Singaporeans are concerned about how they will pay their bills and household expenses if their livelihoods are affected during this uncertain period. We will put more cash in the hands of all families to help them cope,” Mr Heng said.

Families with young children will also see their cash payouts tripled from the originally announced S$100 to S$300 for each Singaporean child.

Singaporeans aged 50 and above, who were eligible for the one-off PAssion Card top-up of S$100, will now receive this amount directly in their designated bank account, eliminating the need to queue up at top-up stations during this period, Mr Heng said.

To help lower-income Singaporeans, grocery vouchers given to them this year will be tripled from S$100 to S$300.

These enhancements mean that a young family will now receive around S$2,900, up from S$1,300 previously, Mr Heng said. Those with three generations under one household will receive around S$6,700, up from S$1,800, he added.

Mr Heng also said that he will double the grant given to self-help groups, which help families and vulnerable groups through their own assistant schemes, by S$20 million over two years.

The grant given to Community Development Councils will also be increased from S$20 million to S$75 million.

Besides these, the Government will exercise greater flexibility on its fees and loans during this period, Mr Heng said.

From April 1 to March 31 next year, it will freeze all government fees and charges.

All loan repayment and interest charges on government loans for university and polytechnic studies will be suspended as well from June 1 this year to May 31 next year.

This is to help graduates who are worried about having to pay off their student loans while finding jobs in this economic climate, he said.

For homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments, late payment charges on mortgage arrears due to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will be suspended for three months.

“HBD will continue to exercise flexibility when providing assistance during this period, through existing measures such as deferring payment of loan instalments for six months,” he said.

In all, these enhancements will cost the Government an estimated S$3 billion more, up from the original S$1.6 billion announced during February’s Budget.

For more on the Resilience Budget, visit tdy.sg/resiliencebudget