Effectiveness of Voucher Schemes in Helping Singaporeans Cope with Cost-of-living Concerns Sustainably
Ministry of FinanceSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim’s inquiry into the effectiveness of the Assurance Package and voucher schemes in managing cost-of-living concerns and the structural support available for vulnerable Singaporeans. Minister Indranee Rajah stated that the Government regularly reviews these schemes and has increased the Assurance Package to over $10 billion to offset inflation for lower and middle-income households. She highlighted targeted structural support such as Workfare, the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, and Silver Support, alongside broad assistance for education and healthcare. These measures are designed to be responsive and fiscally prudent, providing both one-off aid and targeted long-term support for major expenses. Finally, the Minister emphasized that the most sustainable solution is broad-based wage growth outpacing inflation, supported by economic growth and skills upgrading.
Transcript
42 Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) when will the Government study the effectiveness of initiatives like the GSTV scheme and CDC vouchers under the Assurance Package in helping Singaporeans cope with cost-of-living concerns sustainably; and (b) what are some structural or cost control measures that can be implemented to better manage cost-of-living challenges, especially among vulnerable Singaporeans.
Ms Indranee Rajah: The Government regularly reviews the effectiveness of our schemes to ensure they continue to help Singaporeans manage cost-of-living concerns.
Over the recent years, in response to higher inflationary pressures, we had progressively reviewed and enhanced the Assurance Package (AP) with additional cash, U-Save, Service and Conservancy Charges Rebate and Community Development Council Vouchers. In total, we increased the support delivered via the AP from the initial $6.6 billion in 2022 to more than $10 billion in 2025.
These enhancements have fully offset the expenditure increase arising from higher inflation for lower-income households, and substantially offset the expenditure increase for middle-income households each year from 2022 to 2025.
The Government also provides substantial structural support to help Singaporeans manage major cost concerns like education, healthcare and housing, and retirement. On top of this, we provide targeted structural support for vulnerable groups, such as Workfare for lower-wage workers, Fresh Start Housing Scheme for lower-income families and Silver Support for seniors who had low incomes in their working years.
Where necessary, we complement these structural measures with additional one-off support for households. This approach allows us to provide more responsive and targeted support, while remaining fiscally prudent.
In the longer term, the most sustainable way to help Singaporeans cope with cost pressures is through broad-based wage growth that outpaces inflation. The Government will continue to pursue this by growing the economy, creating good jobs and supporting Singaporeans in upgrading their skills through continuing education and training.