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The cash grant component for eligible companies will be raised from S$1,500 to S$2,000, and the total benefits cap for each company will be raised from S$30,000 to S$40,000.
On 7 April 2026 (Tuesday), Singapore's Government convened in Parliament to discuss the developing situation in the Middle East.
Among the key matters addressed, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow announced several measures to provide targeted support to those who have been most heavily and directly affected by the crisis, and broad-based support for businesses and households.
SMS Siow shared that the Government will provide close to S$1bn in additional support to help Singaporeans manage cost pressures and support those who are most affected. This is on top of the measures announced at Budget 2026.
A total of seven measures were detailed, with the aim to supplement what was announced in Budget 2026.
- Active platform workers and taxi drivers will receive a cash relief of S$200 from end-April 2026.
- The Government will provide temporary assistance to co-fund cost increases for certain essential transport services for school students, seniors, and persons with disabilities, to enable them to continue operating without disruption. These include regular transport services to primary schools, Special Education schools, disability services, and health and long-term care services. MOE, MOH and MSF will provide more details at a later stage.
- The Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Rebate and Cash Grant rebate for the Year of Assessment 2026 announced at Budget 2026 will be increased from 40% to 50%. The cash grant component for eligible companies will be raised from S$1,500 to S$2,000, and the total benefits cap for each company will be raised from S$30,000 to S$40,000. Eligible companies will receive the enhanced support from end-April 2026.
- The Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) supports businesses in six sectors by co funding investments in energy-efficient equipment. To support more companies to adopt energy-efficient equipment, the EEG Base Tier will be expanded to all sectors and extended to 31 March 2028. MTI will provide more details later this year.
- The Government will share the cost increases directly arising from fuel price increases for critical Government contracts, where any delay or stoppages would clearly affect the public interest. This will mostly relate to major government infrastructure projects, including the Cross Island MRT Line, and new HDB BTO projects.
- The Government is bringing forward the disbursement of the CDC Vouchers announced at Budget 2026. All Singaporean households will receive $500 in CDC Vouchers in June 2026 instead of January 2027. The CDC Vouchers 2026 (June) will be valid until 31 December 2027.
- The Budget 2026 Cost-of-Living (COL) Special Payment will be enhanced by S$200 for about 2.4mn eligible Singaporeans. Eligible adult Singaporeans with Assessable Income of up to S$100,000 and who do not own more than one property will receive between S$400 and S$600 in cash in September 2026.
Cash relief for platform workers and taxi drivers
The following are eligible for the S$200 cash relief:
- Platform workers who have net earnings from platform work of more than S$500/month (excluding employment income) across all platform operators, for each month in the three-month period from Dec 2025 to Feb 2026.
- All taxi drivers who were in an agreement with a Taxi Operator to hire a taxi throughout the three-month period from Dec 2025 to Feb 2026.
The CPF Board will automatically disburse the cash payout to platform workers who meet the criteria — Platform workers who have net earnings from platform work of more than S$500/month (excluding employment income) across all platform operators — based on the net earnings declared by their platform operator when making CPF contributions.
The cash payout will be disbursed via PayNow-NRIC by 30 April 2026. Those without PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts but have a DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB bank account registered with the govbenefits website will receive the payout via GIRO by 11 May 2026. Those who are not on PayNow-NRIC and/or do not have a valid bank account will receive the payout via GovCash by 18 May 2026.
Those on GovCash may withdraw their payout at any OCBC ATMs island-wide by:
- Entering their Payment Reference Number (PRN), which can be retrieved by logging into the govbenefits website with their Singpass,
- Entering their NRIC, and
- Passing the facial verification. They do not require an OCBC bank account to withdraw their payment at the OCBC ATMs.
In addition, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will automatically disburse the cash payout to taxi drivers who meet the criteria — All taxi drivers who were in an agreement with a Taxi Operator to hire a taxi throughout the three-month period from Dec 2025 to Feb 2026 — and do not receive the payout from CPF Board. This will be disbursed through taxi operators by mid-May.
At Budget 2026, PM Wong also announced enhanced U-Save rebates to help households with their utilities expenses. Last week, the first batch of U-Save and Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates were dispatched.
Eligible Singaporean HDB households will receive 1.5 times the regular amount of U-Save rebates, or up to $570, in Financial Year 2026. In April 2026, more than 1 million Singaporean HDB households will receive up to S$190 worth of U-Save rebates which will help to defray the increase in utility bills from April to June 2026.
Eligible households can expect another round of rebates up to S$190 in July 2026. These rebates will help to defray the much sharper increase in households’ utility bills expected from July to September 2026.
In his speech, SMS Siow explained this targeted approach enables direct support to those who are already affected, therefore allowing the Government to provide more assistance to help those groups.
"Even as we roll out immediate relief, this challenging period is also a timely reminder for all our businesses to build longer-term resilience against high and sustained energy prices", he added.
A broader focus
The above-mentioned announcements come on the heels of an address by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on 2 April, wherein he cautioned that the world could face a severe energy crunch and the risk of stagflation if disruptions persist, stressing that Singaporeans must be prepared for a highly uncertain period ahead.
In his message, he outlined a three-pronged approach that the Government will undertake in response to the crisis, with efforts including:
- Active steps to strengthen Singapore's energy and supply chain resilience.
- Support measures to cushion the immediate impact on households and businesses.
- Going beyond Government support measures, to national unity in facing uncertainty.
Read HRO's coverage on this here.
Lead image / Screenshot of speech, aired on MDDI Singapore's YouTube
Infographics / MOF WhatsApp channel
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