Singapore's cost of living plan to fight inflation: What it entails

Adult Singaporeans who do not own more than one property and with incomes not exceeding S$100,000 will get a payment of between S$200 and S$400.

Singapore will offer a special cost of living payment of up to S$400 ($297) to qualified citizens to help offset inflation, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Friday.

People cycle along Marina Bay East Park, past the Marina Bay Sands resort, in Singapore. (AFP)

Adult Singaporeans who do not own more than one property and with incomes not exceeding S$100,000 will get a payment of between S$200 and S$400 as part of the government’s proposed budget, Wong, who’s also the finance minister, told parliament during his budget report.

The budget would also allot an additional S$600 to all Singaporean households in so-called Community Development Council vouchers meant to help Singaporeans cope with daily expenses, according to Wong, who announced a raft of new support measures to households and companies.

“Despite the unprecedented surge in prices, we had good economic growth in 2022 so incomes that year rose faster than inflation and Singaporeans were better off in real terms,” he said. “Unfortunately, this didn’t happen last year. Inflation had in fact started to moderate but economic growth also slowed.”

While core inflation has eased from multi-year highs, it still remains elevated in the wake of rising electricity and gas prices, as well as the increase in the goods and services tax in January to 9% from 8%. Singapore’s reliance on imports also means it could be vulnerable to any uptick in global energy and food prices with the logistics bottlenecks in the Red Sea and the El Nino dry spell.