Singapore Budget 2024: What to Know About Improved Assurance Package

Here's what every eligible Singaporean household can benefit from as announced in Budget 2024.

Another year, another Budget Announcement has come and gone. And with each Budget talk, there are a few key highlights that got everyone's ears perked up and eyes glued on the screen – one of them being the boosts to the Assurance Package.

Although primarily aimed to assist lower-income families and larger households (like those with children and seniors), we can expect to receive a mixture of cash, CDC vouchers, and U-Save rebates as part of a S$1.9 billion boost to the improved Assurance Package.

Keep reading to discover the improvements made to the Assurance Package.

Table of contents

Overview: Improvements to the Assurance Package
CDC Vouchers
Cost-of-living special payment
U-Save and S&CC rebates
GST Voucher Fund top-up
Tips on saving more and spend savvy in 2024

What to know about the Assurance Package top-up

1. Additional S$600 CDC Vouchers

Since the CDC Vouchers Scheme was introduced by the Community Development Council, it's been a recurring monetary benefit eagerly anticipated by many Singaporeans each year.

In 2023, every Singaporean household received S$300 worth of CDC Vouchers. In 2024, we can expect an additional S$600 worth of CDC Vouchers to be issued, on top of the initial disbursement of S$500 CDC Vouchers on 3 January this year!

The first S$300 will be disbursed in June 2024 with the other S$300 being disbursed in January 2025.

In sum, that's a whopping S$800 worth of CDC Vouchers in total to look forward to.

While these CDC Vouchers are great, it's worth noting that their eligibility is limited to participating heartland merchants, hawkers, and supermarkets only. They cannot be used on all businesses.

2. Up to S$400 cost-of-living special payments

Are you a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young working adult just entering the workforce? Then do we have good news for you.

Chances are, you'll most likely qualify to receive a one-off cost-of-living special payment of between S$200 to S$400 in cash by September 2024. To qualify, you must:

Be a Singaporean aged 21 and above in 2024
Reside in Singapore
Not own more than one property
Have an assessable income of up to S$100,000 in the AY2023

Unlike the above CDC Vouchers, these cost-of-living special payments will be disbursed in cash. This means that you're free to spend this amount in whichever manner best benefits you and your household's financial situation.

Furthermore, as the name suggests, these special cash payments are meant to help lower- and middle-income individuals better mitigate the effects of inflation and rising costs of living.

3. Additional U-Save rebates and S&CC rebates

To help Singaporeans cope with hikes in utility bills, additional one-off U-Save rebates and Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates will also be issued out to families residing in HDBs.

The U-Save Rebates will be disbursed in four tranches spanning April, July, October 2024, and January 2025. Eligible HDB households will receive 2.5 times the amount of regular U-Save rebates (or up to S$950) in 2024.

Meanwhile, the additional S&CC rebate is meant to offset 0.5 months of S&CC in January 2025. In total, eligible HDB households will receive up to four months of S&CC rebates in 2024.

Compare The Best Credit Cards for Paying Utility Bills

4. GST Voucher top-ups

To permanently defray GST expenses for lower- and middle-income households, the government is also topping up the existing GST Voucher Fund by S$6 billion. This comes in especially helpful since the 9% GST hike this year.

How to save more and spend savvy in 2024?

#1: Use a cashback or miles credit card to earn rebates

If you're not using a handy cashback or miles credit card for your dedicated expenses in 2024, you're seriously missing out! Even if you've just started working a few months ago and don't know where to start, don't be intimidated by the complexities of the credit card world! (We have an ultimate guide for that! 😉)

Best for	Credit card	Key benefits
Everyday expenses	OCBC 365 Card Apply Now	Up to 6% cashback on selected everyday categories
	POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cash rebates on selected everyday categories
	Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	Up to 8% cashback on selected everyday categories
Dining, groceries, petrol	Citi Cash Back Card Apply Now	6% cashback on dining 8% cashback on groceries and all petrol
Groceries, online shopping	CIMB Visa Signature Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cashback on online shopping and groceries
Online and contactless transactions	UOB EVOL Card Apply Now	8% cashback on online and mobile contactless spend
	OCBC FRANK Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cashback on online and contactless spend
	DBS Live Fresh Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cashback on online and contactless spend

Best for	Credit card	Key benefits
Everyday expenses	UOB Lady's Card Apply Now	6 mpd* on one enrolled category (e.g. dining)
Everyday expenses	UOB Lady's Solitaire Card Apply Now	6 mpd* on two enrolled categories (e.g. dining, family)
Travel, everyday expenses	KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply Now	3 mpd on Singapore Airlines-related spend 3 mpd on everyday expenses (e.g. dining, food delivery, shopping, transport) with min. S$800 on Singapore Airlines-related annual spend
	Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card Apply Now	2.8 mpd on overseas and air tickets (all airlines) transactions 1.2 mpd on all local retail expenses (e.g. groceries, transport, shopping, dining, etc.)
Travel cards	Refer here for more options
Online and contactless transactions	Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	4 mpd on selected online transactions (e.g. ride-hailing, shopping, food delivery, groceries)
	HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	4 mpd on selected online and contactless transactions (e.g. shopping, travel, groceries, food delivery, dining)
	DBS Woman's Card Apply Now	2 mpd on online transactions
	DBS Woman's World Card Apply Now	4 mpd on online transactions (both local and foreign spend)
	UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card	4 mpd on online shopping, mobile contactless spend, and entertainment transactions

*Will revert to 4 mpd after 31 March 2024

#2: Use a budgeting app to track expenses

In an ideal world, most of us would like to believe that we're great with our money and don't need to track our expenses just to stay within budget. But realistically, we know that's usually not the case.

We recommend budgeting apps like Fortune City that allow you to gamify your personal finances and make tracking more fun.

#3: Use a high-yield savings account

No thanks to inflation, leaving money in a savings account with low interest rate (for e.g. < 4% p.a. interest) is only going to erode your money's purchasing power over time. That is not the move for 2024.

Instead, keep up with inflation by either saving in a high-yield savings account or using a cash management account. Regardless of your choice, both options promise better returns on your money, as long as they're aligned with your financial goals and habits.

Compare Best Savings Accounts

#4: Consider stable or short-term investment options

For those with a low-risk appetite, investing in stable tools like T-Bills or Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs) acts as a great introduction to dipping your toes in investing. Alternatively, if you're afraid of commitment, investing in short-term fixed deposits isn't half bad too.

#5: Invest with a robo-advisor or online brokerage

While timing the market never bodes well for most people, investing in portfolios (see: dollar-cost averaging) curated by robo-advisors and online brokerages tends to be a fairly dependable route. Such portfolios typically consist of a diversified mix of assets including ETFs, stocks, REITs, and more.

Moreover, these platforms typically impose minimal commission or management fees, making them suitable for investing novices and experts alike.

Singapore Budget 2024: What Individual & Household Support Can We Expect From The Improved Assurance Package?

Emma Lam

Here's what every eligible Singaporean household can benefit from as announced in Budget 2024.