Additional S$300 CDC vouchers, U-Save rebates for Singaporean households amid Middle East crisis
The government will also raise the monthly payouts for lower-income families receiving urgent and temporary financial relief under ComCare.
A Community Development Council voucher sign at a bakery in Punggol Plaza on Jan 2, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: All Singaporean households will receive another S$300 (US$230) in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers in January 2027, as part of a S$900 million support package to help manage cost pressures amid the Middle East crisis.
The additional vouchers come on top of the S$500 in CDC vouchers that were initially scheduled to be disbursed in January 2027 but brought forward to June.
The entire sum of S$800 in CDC vouchers will be valid until Dec 31, 2027. CDC vouchers can be used at more than 24,000 participating hawkers and heartland merchants, and at participating supermarkets.
Announcing the support package for households and businesses on Wednesday (Jul 29), Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow said the vouchers are meant to help with daily expenses and to cushion the impact of inflation.
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Apart from the CDC vouchers, Mr Siow also announced enhancements to the upcoming U-Save rebates to offset the cost of higher utility bills for most households, as well as more financial relief for lower-income families.
The additional support augments the government’s S$1 billion support package first announced in April.
The first package had topped up the Cost-of-Living special payments for eligible Singaporeans, and given new cash support to platform and transport workers hit by fuel price hikes.
The situation in the Middle East, where shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be disrupted amid war, remains fragile, said Mr Siow.
“We expect global energy prices to remain elevated, which will translate to higher costs for petrol, diesel, electricity, as well as certain imported goods,” he said.
The sum of S$800 in CDC vouchers disbursed for financial year 2026/2027 is equal to that disbursed in the previous year, he noted.
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said that households spent S$1.03 billion in disbursed SG60 vouchers and CDC vouchers in six-and-a-half months from January to Jul 28.
“We should not see the tranche of support measures in isolation. It all builds on each other,” she said.
“This S$1.03 billion of vouchers has helped to catalyse the footfall and the demand for the goods and services and the meals at the participating heartland shops and also hawkers, including the coffee shops as well.”
HOUSEHOLD ENERGY BILLS
To help every eligible Singaporean Housing Development Board (HDB) household with energy bills, the government will enhance U-Save rebates in October this year and January 2027.
With the enhancement, eligible households will receive S$110 to S$190 in U-Save rebates per quarter – double the regular amount, said the Ministry of Finance.
This extends the enhanced U-Save rebates given in April and July this year, which were provided for under the government’s Budget 2026.
LOWER-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
Lower-income Singaporean households that need urgent and temporary financial relief for their daily living expenses currently receive aid under the ComCare Interim Assistance scheme.
At present, the amount of monthly support for each eligible household is sized based on the household’s needs.
Currently, to qualify for ComCare Interim Assistance, households cannot earn more than S$800 a month on a per capita basis.
Mr Siow said the government will increase payouts for ComCare Interim Assistance to at least S$250 per month for up to three months “with more provided to those with greater needs”.
“We will also be more flexible on the eligibility for ComCare Interim Assistance, so more households can qualify for support.”
These enhancements will take effect from Aug 17 to Dec 31, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
ComCare Interim Assistance is disbursed on an ad hoc basis and constitutes about 1 per cent of overall ComCare payments, MSF has previously said.
MSF said it will also raise payouts under the ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) scheme by at least 5 per cent or S$50 a month, whichever is higher, for up to three months.
ComCare SMTA is for lower-income Singaporean households whose members are temporarily unable to work, looking for a job or earning a low income and in need of assistance.
In 2024, close to 21,000 households benefited from ComCare SMTA. The median monthly amount disbursed under the scheme was S$380 per beneficiary in an assisted household.
Source: CNA/dv(nj)
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