SINGAPORE — Every Singaporean household can now claim $300 in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers for their daily expenses. They will be split equally for spending at participating hawkers and heartland merchants, and supermarkets.

The last tranche of CDC vouchers worth $500 was launched by then-Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Jan 3, 2024. It provided households with $200 more help than the previous tranche in 2023.

The $500 given out in January 2024, together with the $300 in June, means that each Singaporean household will get a total of $800 in 2024. This is the first time two tranches of CDC vouchers have been given out in the same calendar year.

Wong, who is also Finance Minister, announced at Budget 2024 in February that Singaporeans will get a mix of cash, vouchers and rebates under a $1.9 billion boost to the Assurance Package to help with cost-of-living concerns and an uncertain economic outlook.

Among the enhancements were an additional $600 in CDC vouchers — the first $300 to be disbursed end June in 2024, and the remaining $300 will be disbursed in January 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, launched this tranche of the CDC vouchers scheme at West Coast Community Centre on June 25. With him were Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, and MP of West Coast GRC, as well as the five mayors.

DPM Gan said the total support provided in the Assurance Package is over $10 billion. All in all, each household would have received $1,300 worth of CDC vouchers to date.

He added that about 1.3 million households have claimed the CDC vouchers disbursed in January 2024. Of the claimed vouchers, more than $500 million has been spent at participating heartland merchants, hawkers and supermarkets. All in all, Singaporean households have used more than $1 billion of CDC vouchers across the four tranches.

"The CDC vouchers scheme is testament to the Government's commitment to help Singaporeans address cost-of-living concerns," DPM Gan said. "I want to assure Singaporeans that the Government understands your concerns and stands ready to support you when necessary."

The CDC vouchers scheme was first introduced in June 2020 during the pandemic to help lower-income households defray their daily expenses, while supporting local merchants and hawkers affected by the pandemic. It was expanded to all households in December 2021 to thank Singaporeans for their solidarity during the pandemic, and to support heartland businesses as they emerged from the pandemic.

Even after the pandemic, as inflation continued to stay high as a result of persistent supply chain constraints and the war in Ukraine, many Singaporeans continued to be concerned about their daily expenses and the impact of rising prices, Mr Gan said, explaining why the Government decided to continue with the scheme and enhance the level of support given.

Besides the CDC Vouchers, the Government is also providing assistance in various ways, DPM Gan said.

In July, eligible Singaporeans households will receive U-Save and service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebates to help offset utility bills and service and conservancy charges. They will also get these rebates in October 2024, and again in January 2025. Singaporeans can also look forward to receiving the Budget 2024 Cost-of-Living Special Payment in September.

"Today, we live in a very uncertain and volatile world. As a small and open economy, Singapore will naturally be affected by global developments," DPM Gan said. "But I am confident that as long as we stay united, we can overcome any challenges together."

The current fifth tranche of the vouchers has approximately 23,000 participating hawkers and heartland merchants on board. Participating hawkers and heartland merchants may benefit from a total possible spend of about $194 million in CDC vouchers (June) by households.

In addition, there are eight participating supermarkets comprising 415 outlets island-wide. They are Ang Mo Supermarket, Cold Storage, Giant Singapore, HAO Mart, NTUC FairPrice, Prime Supermarket, Sheng Siong and U Stars Supermarket. Residents can also search for participating hawkers, heartland merchants and supermarkets near them at go.gov.sg/cdcvouchers.

Since January 2024, Singaporean households have used over $273 million of CDC vouchers for supermarket purchases, said chairman of Mayors' committee Low Yen Ling.

"We want to onboard more hawkers and heartland merchants on the CDC Voucher scheme to help them attract more customers and grow their clientele base," she said. "With more shops on the scheme, Singaporeans will enjoy greater options to reduce expenses using their CDC vouchers."

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How to claim your CDC vouchers

From June 25, Singaporean households will receive a notification letter via mail on how to claim and spend their $300 CDC vouchers for June 2024. This process remains similar to previous tranches where only one household member is required to visit go.gov.sg/cdcv and log in with their Singpass to claim the digital vouchers on behalf of the household.

Upon claiming, the applicant will receive an SMS with their unique voucher link from "RedeemSG" (before July 1) or "gov.sg" (from July 1 onwards) to the applicant's registered mobile number, which can then be shared with other household members. The SMS links for CDC vouchers 2024 (January) and CDC vouchers 2024 (June) are different, and both sets of vouchers are valid until December 31, 2024.

Participating hawkers and heartland merchants can be identified by the teal CDC voucher decal, while participating supermarkets can be identified by the yellow CDC voucher decal. Alternatively, residents can also find the list of participating businesses near them at go.gov.sg/cdcvouchers.

Those facing difficulties with the digital claiming process can get help at Community Centres/Clubs (CCs) and SG Digital Community Hubs. For the first two weeks after the launch, the CDCs will be engaging close to 240 youth and student volunteers, who will be stationed at selected CCs, together with CDC Ambassadors, to help Singaporeans through the claiming process.

From June 25 to July 8, SG Digital Office (SDO) Digital Ambassadors and about 50 Silver Infocomm Wellness Ambassadors will also be deployed at CCs to provide assistance for residents who need help to claim their digital vouchers.

Claiming the CDC vouchers does not require any involvement with bank applications or transactions. Those who detect any suspicious messages relating to RedeemSG or gov.sg or CDC vouchers can contact PA at 6225 5322, or submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness or call 1800 2550 000 to make a police report.

More information on the CDC voucher scheme 2024 (June) is available at https://vouchers.cdc.gov.sg/.

ALSO READ: Beyond meals: Here's where else you can spend your CDC vouchers

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.