SINGAPORE – About 950,000 Singaporean households living in Housing Board flats will receive U-Save and service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebates in October, as part of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher scheme and Assurance Package.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement on Friday that the rebates, which are disbursed four times in each financial year, are meant to help defray GST expenses and provide cost-of-living support to lower- and middle-income households.

Eligible households in financial year 2023 will receive double their regular U-Save rebates. This amounts to eight to 10 months’ worth of utilities bills for the average household in one- or two-room flats, and four to six months’ worth of utilities bills for those in three- or four-room flats.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong announced a $1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package to provide relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income families.

As part of the package, eligible households will receive an additional $20 in U-Save rebates quarterly between January 2024 and December 2025, which equates to a total of $160 for two years.

These rebates are meant to help cushion the impact of increases in carbon tax and water price in 2024 and 2025, said MOF.

“The additional U-Save rebates will on average fully offset the increase in utility bills for one- to two-room flats over the next two years, about 80 per cent for three- to four-room flats, and about 65 per cent for larger flats,” said the ministry.

“On average, this translates to three- and four-room HDB flats paying about $2 more per month, and five-room and larger HDB flats paying about $4 more per month.”

On Friday, it was also announced that gas and electricity tariffs will go up for the next three months due to higher fuel and energy costs.

The ministry added that eligible households will also receive an additional half-month S&CC rebate in January 2024.

The U-Save rebates will be credited directly into the households’ utilities accounts with SP Services, while the S&CC rebates will be credited directly into their S&CC accounts managed by the town councils.

Households do not need to take any action to benefit from these schemes.