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1.4 million Singaporeans to get Bicentennial Bonus benefits next month

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About 1.4 million Singaporeans will receive up to three of the Bicentennial Bonus benefits next month.

These are the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher cash payout, Central Provident Fund (CPF) top-up and Workfare Bicentennial Bonus, said the Finance Ministry yesterday.

During Budget 2019, the Government announced a $1.1 billion Bicentennial Bonus to commemorate Singapore's bicentennial and to support individuals who need more help.

SMS notifications for the bicentennial cash payment and Workfare Bicentennial Bonus will go out by the end of this month.

Letters for the Workfare Bicentennial Bonus and CPF top-up will be issued next month.

To verify the authenticity of an SMS notification, citizens can check that the message is sent by "SG-Workfare" for the Workfare Bicentennial Bonus, or "GSTV" for the GST Voucher.

These notifications only inform citizens of their respective benefits, and citizens will not be asked to reply to the SMS or provide any information, said the ministry.

Those aged 21 and above who earned an income of up to $28,000 in 2017 are eligible for the GST Voucher.

If their home's annual value at the end of last year was $13,000 or below, they will receive $300.

If the annual value was more than $13,000 but no more than $21,000, they will receive $150.

WORKFARE

Employees under the Workfare Income Supplement scheme will receive an additional 10 per cent of their total Workfare payment for work done last year, with a minimum payment of $100 to help with daily expenses.

About 300,000 Singaporeans aged 50 to 64 will get top-ups to their CPF Ordinary and Special Accounts or Retirement Accounts.

Those aged 50 to 54 this year will receive $300 or $500.

Those aged 55 to 64 this year will get $600 or $1,000, depending on how much they have in their CPF Ordinary and Special Accounts, or their Retirement Accounts.

To qualify for the top-ups, recipients also have to meet other criteria such as not owning more than one property, and not exceeding $28,000 in assessable income for Year of Assessment 2018.

As part of the Bicentennial Bonus, primary and secondary school students received a $150 top-up to their Edusave accounts by June, while Singaporeans aged 17 to 20 got up to $500 in their Post-Secondary Education Accounts.

Each taxpayer will also get a personal income tax rebate of 50 per cent of tax payable for income earned last year, capped at $200.

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