Proportion of Self-employed Persons Who Could Not Receive COVID-19 Recovery Grants due to Insufficient MediSave Payments

6 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the proportion of self-employed persons that could not receive their COVID-19 Recovery Grants due to their insufficient MediSave payments.

The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Mdm Deputy Speaker, the Member, Mr Leon Perera¹ has also filed a question on the proportion of rejected applications due to the job search and training requirement for the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) and COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG) for a subsequent Sitting. I will address both Questions in this reply. May I, Mdm Deputy Speaker?

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Yes, please.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Thank you. Both CSG and CRG assist lower to middle income resident employees who, as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19, are:

(a) Involuntarily unemployed due to retrenchment or contract termination;

(b) Placed on involuntary no-pay leave for at least three consecutive months; or

(c) Experiencing significant salary loss for at least three consecutive months.

CRG also supports self-employed persons (SEPs) who experience significant loss in net trade income for at least three consecutive months. Applications for the CSG closed on 31 December 2020, while CRG is open for applications until 31 December 2021.

For both CSG and CRG, applicants experiencing job loss are required to provide supporting documents for their job search or training efforts. They can include attending job interviews or applying for training opportunities via Government-linked touchpoints like the MyCareersFuture and MySkillsFuture portals.

Employees who are employed but are experiencing income loss or are on involuntary no-pay-leave are exempted from this criterion because they are still working or may be recalled to work and, hence, will face more difficulty committing to job search or training. SEP applicants who wish to remain in their current sector or trade can provide supporting evidence of their attempts to contact new clients or search for new business opportunities, in lieu of job search and training. We have also implemented the COVID-19 Recovery Grant – Temporary (CRG-T), which facilitates quicker assistance to those who are economically affected during this period of Heightened Alert. As it may be challenging for applicants to find jobs or undertake training under the tightened safe management measures, CRG-T does not have job search and training conditions.

Applicants failing to meet the job search or training criterion accounted for less than 1% of unsuccessful CSG applications and around 3% of unsuccessful CRG applications as of 27 June 2021.

The Member also asked about the CRG criterion for SEPs to fulfil their MediSave contribution obligations. All working individuals should regularly contribute to their CPF for their retirement and future healthcare needs. As SEPs do not receive MediSave contributions from employers, they are required to contribute to their own MediSave accounts based on their past years' declared earnings.

To qualify for a second tranche of CRG assistance, SEP applicants should either not have any outstanding MediSave contributions or commit to making contributions via a GIRO instalment plan with CPF Board. We have waived this requirement for those applying for their first tranche of CRG to allow eligible SEPs to receive timely assistance and give them more time to make arrangements for their MediSave contributions. Individuals who do not meet the MediSave contribution criterion make up less than 1% of the unsuccessful CRG applications by SEPs.

I would like to encourage those who do not meet the qualifying criteria for CRG, but are facing extenuating circumstances and need help, to approach our Social Service Offices (SSOs). Our SSOs will look into ways to support them and may also link them to other assistance schemes or community partners for further assistance, if necessary.

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Mr Leon Perera.

Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied): I thank the Minister for his reply and also the assurance that the SEPs who could not meet MediSave requirements constitute 1% of those who are rejected.

Just one clarification. The Minister mentioned that the Government will consider cases where SEPs still have MediSave arrears, if they will commit to an instalment plan or a GIRO plan, going forward. Bearing in mind that some of the SEPs at the lower end of income may still be very affected by the COVID-19 situation, would such consideration include allowing a time interval before the GIRO plan kicks in? Because some of the SEPs work in certain industries, like MICE and tourism-related, for example, may still face very low income for quite some time, and they may be able to commit to instalment payments of MediSave, but perhaps not so quickly or immediately.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: As I mentioned, the number that is rejected on the basis of MediSave contributions is very, very low; less than 1%. This testifies to the commitment by the 99% or more SEPs who actually are very committed to grow their MediSave account, and I think we should compliment them and reward them and not, on the other hand, loosen too much on this MediSave contribution criterion.

Having said that, for everyone who needs help, we will extend help as much as we can. Even if they cannot qualify for CRG, I know, our SSOs look for every other means to help them to ensure that they are not somehow in dire need because of not meeting specific criteria of CRG or other assistance plans.

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): I would like to thank the Minister for the reply. Just to give us a better sense of the 1%, in absolute numbers, how many individuals are you referring to?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: I thank the Leader of Opposition for the question. I do not have the specific number, but to be specific about the percentage, it is 0.04%. So, 0.04% is very, very small.