Singapore households to get $300 CDC vouchers in January 2027 to cushion impact of inflation

Every Singaporean household will receive another $300 worth of CDC vouchers in January 2027 to help them manage cost increases resulting from the Middle East crisis.

The vouchers are to help with daily expenses and cushion the impact of inflation, said Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow at a press conference on July 29, where he announced an extra tranche of financial support for households and businesses.

This move is on top of the $500 worth of vouchers given out in June to some 1.38 million Singaporean households.

The Government had disbursed the tranche of vouchers half a year earlier as part of its initial package of support measures to cushion the impact of the Middle East conflict.

The total sum of CDC vouchers disbursed in the 2026 financial year is now $800.

As with past tranches, the $300 will be split equally for use between participating heartland merchants and hawkers, and participating supermarkets. The vouchers will be valid till December 31, 2027.

The vouchers are part of an overall $900 million support package that Siow, who is also Transport Minister, announced alongside Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling at the Treasury.

Spending across different voucher tranches in the last six and a half months amounted to about $1.03 billion, said Low.

“We should not see (each) tranche of support measures in isolation,” she added.

“It all builds on each other, and this $1.03 billion of vouchers has helped to catalyse the footfall and the demand for the goods and services and the meals at the participating heartland shops, hawkers and coffee shops.”

The authorities had earlier in the week also moved on the monetary policy front to combat inflation.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore on July 27 said it would increase the rate of the Singdollar’s appreciation, adding that it expects Singapore’s imported costs to rise in the quarters ahead.

Siow also announced that the Government will provide additional U-Save rebates in October 2026 and January 2027 to help households with their electricity bills.

This is on top of the additional Budget 2026 rebates provided in April and July 2026, which were given out to more than 1 million households.

Taken together, eligible HDB households will receive $110 to $190 per quarter, depending on flat type.

The extra support means households will receive double the regular GST Voucher (GSTV) – U-Save amount in those months.

The total sum should fully offset the impact of higher utility bills for most households living in a four-room or smaller Housing Board flat until March 2027, said Siow.

Siow said global energy prices are expected to remain elevated, which would translate to higher costs for electricity, among others.

Singaporean households will see a 17 percent increase in the electricity tariff from July to September, while the town gas tariff will rise by 7.1 percent.

The authorities said in June that the record-high increases awee due to higher prices of natural gas amid the Middle East conflict.

Natural gas prices had increased sharply from the end of February, and remained elevated from April to June, leading to higher costs of producing electricity and town gas here.

Siow also said that additional support would be provided for lower-income households through the ComCare Interim Assistance scheme.

The latest measures add to a $1 billion package of assistance measures for households and businesses that the Government had announced in April 2026, following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East in end-February. This came on top of support provided in Budget 2026.

Asked why the amount of the new tranche of CDC vouchers is lower than the $500 disbursed in June, Siow said the total value of vouchers would amount to $800 this year, which is the same as the previous year.

On whether the CDC voucher scheme would become permanent, Low said the vouchers have brought footfall to neighbourhood centres while merchants have used the monies to provide better deals for their customers.

“From the CDC voucher side, we will continue to use such numbers as well as heartening stories to make the case to MOF … (to) consider including CDC vouchers as part of future tranches of support measures,” said Low.

Low, who is also chairwoman of the mayors’ committee and Mayor of South West District, also provided updated usage figures on previous tranches of CDC vouchers.

As at July 28, about $345 million has been spent for the CDC vouchers launched in January, and another $285 million was spent for the tranche disbursed in June.

Some $1.75 billion in SG60 vouchers has also been spent since it was given out in July 2025.

-The Strait Times