What are the Support Measured Conducted by CPF Singapore?
The COVID-19 outbreak has been a challenging time for both Singapore and many countries around the world. The Government has introduced various support measures for Singaporeans through the Unity, Resilience, Solidarity and Fortitude budgets, amounting to $93 billion. At CPF Singapore Board, thoughts go out to those affected by the outbreak. Hope that everyone are taking good care of yourself and loved ones and are staying safe during this period. CPF Singapore are committed to continue serving cpf contribution members and employers to the best of their abilities.
CPF Singapore Support for Employers
Enhanced Wage Credit Scheme (WCS): Additional $500 million for employees’ wage increases, on top of $600 million disbursed in March 2020.
Who qualifies for WCS:
All employers giving wage increases in 2013 – 2020 to Singapore Citizen employees who:
- Received CPF Singapore contributions from a single employer for at least 3 calendar months* in the preceding year2;
- Have been on the employer’s payroll for at least 3 calendar months* in the qualifying year3 (i.e. employer must have paid employee CPF Singapore contributions for at least three calendar months* in qualifying year); and
- Have at least $50 gross monthly wage increase (up to the Gross Monthly Wage ceiling4)
- Must not also be the business owner of the same entity (i.e. sole proprietor of the sole proprietorship, or a partner of the partnership, or both a shareholder and director of a company)
Jobs Support Scheme (JSS): To help retain your workers, the Government will co-fund the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each local employee for ten months, with payouts disbursed in April, May, July and October 2020.
Who qualifies for JSS:
All employers who have made mandatory CPF contributions for their local employees (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) will qualify for the payout.
As announced on 21 Apr 2020, the Government will extend the JSS to cover wages of employees in a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors)3. Wage support for shareholder-directors will only apply to companies registered on or before 20 Apr 2020, and for shareholder-directors with Assessable Income of $100,000 or less for the Year of Assessment 2019.
The May 2020 and subsequent JSS payouts will include the wage support for qualifying shareholder-directors. The May 2020 payout will also include back-payment for companies with qualifying shareholder-directors whose wages were excluded from the first JSS payout in Apr 2020.
Senior Worker Support Package: Supporting employers to adjust to the key recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers through Senior Employment Credit, CPF Singapore Transition Offset, Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant, Part-time Re-employment Grant.
- Provides wage offsets to employers hiring Singaporean and PR workers aged above 55 to 70.
- Provides wage offsets to employers hiring senior Singaporean workers aged 55 and above, and earning up to $4,000 a month.
- Provides funding support to companies that increase their own retirement and re-employment ages ahead of the legislated changes.
- Provides funding support to companies that voluntarily commit to providing part-time re-employment to all eligible seniors who request for it.
CPF Singapore Support for Singaporeans
As part of the COVID-19 support package, the Government has introduced several measures to help support Singaporeans:
Households:
- Solidarity Payment: All adult Singaporeans will each receive a $600 Solidarity Payment in April 2020. The other cash payouts under the Care and Support Package will be paid out in June 2020.
- Additional GST Voucher: All eligible HDB households will receive double the regular U-Save this year. For larger households, they will receive 2.5 times more compared to their regular U-Save.
Lower-wage workers:
- Workfare Special Payment: Cash payment of $1,500 each in July and October 2020 for Singaporeans who received Workfare Income Supplement payments for work done in 2019.
- COVID-19 Support Grant: Cash grant of $800 a month for three months for lower- and middle-income Singaporeans who lose their jobs due to COVID-19.
CPF Singapore Support for homeowners
The Government has worked with HDB and various banks to assist homeowners in their time of need. The measures, which include a deferment of monthly instalments for a period of time, could help with any concerns you may have regarding the repayment of your housing loan.
CPF Singapore Support for healthcare needs
To support safe distancing for patients, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has introduced a time-limited extension of Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) subsidy and use of MediSave for follow-ups of seven selected chronic conditions through video consultations.
Currently, CHAS subsidies and MediSave use are not permitted for any telehealth or telemedicine services. For a limited time and on an exceptional basis from 3 April 2020, selected patients will be able to follow up on their chronic conditions through video consultations with approved healthcare institutions (listed in the next section), and use their CHAS Chronic subsidy and MediSave (i.e. MediSave500 and Flexi-MediSave) within limits to offset the cost of:
- the video consultation;
- related drugs; and
- related investigations.
The conditions included in the initiative are selected as they are less likely to require physical examinations and the adoption of video consultations can support safe distancing measures. The seven selected chronic conditions, all of which are under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), are:
- Diabetes (including pre-diabetes)
- Hypertension
- Lipid Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Major Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Anxiety
CPF Singapore Support for Self-Employed Persons
To help Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) through this difficult period, the Government has introduced some measures to support SEPs:
SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS): Eligible SEPs will receive three quarterly cash payouts of $3,000 each in May, July and October 2020. NTUC will start processing appeals from 20 April 2020.
Who Eligible to SIRS:
- Extend SIRS to automatically include SEPs who also earn an income of no more than $2,300 per month from employment work; and
- Raise the Annual Value (AV) of property threshold from $13,000 to up to $21,000. This will include those who live in some condominiums and other private properties.
- Started work as an SEP on or before 25 March 2020;
- Currently earn a Net Trade Income (NTI) of not more than $100,000;
- If SEP also has employment (i.e. dual status worker), the income earned as an employee must be not more than $2,300/month;
- Live in a property with an AV not more than $21,000; and
- Do not own two or more properties.
SEP Training Support Scheme: Eligible SEPs can apply to NTUC to receive training allowance of $7.50 for every hour of training attended in April 2020, and $10 per hour for every hour of training attended from May to December 2020.
Who Eligible to SEPS:
- Be a Singaporean Citizen or a Permanent Resident
- Be a Self-Employed Person (SEP)
- Not be suspended from claiming training grants from government agencies
- Provide your Consolidated statement of income / Notice of Assessment for year of assessment 2020 submitted to IRAS in capacity of SEP
