With the daily cases of Covid-19 climbing, the situation in Singapore may start to look kind of grim, especially when it comes to our finances. It is no secret that many have found themselves caught in the shorter end of the stick with loss of income, whether it be company withholding pay, partial loss of income or even loss of jobs. It is now at this crucial time that we lean on to government funding to aid us in this difficult period.
As of 14 April, the government has given out a $600 cash payout to every adult Singaporean to help tide us through this time. But we should also help to improve our own cash flow by taking upon ourselves to look at this list of four things that we should do during this circuit breaker period:
- Defer your mortgage and/or interest payment up to 31 December 2020
In the spirit of home quarantines, let’s talk about the first thing you should do; defer your mortgage payment. No matter which bank you use, there is a “Home Loan Repayment Relief” that you are entitled to. Don’t forget to do this as it might just take a load off in this financially troubling time, the links are as follows:
UOB
https://forms.uob.com.sg/personal/property/cashflow-assist.html
Standard Chartered Bank
https://www.sc.com/sg/important-information/covid-relief-mortgage/
- Defer income tax
As a Singapore citizen, this option is now made available to you to “help ease your cash flow”. However, only employed citizens would need to set up their deferments, as the deferment is automatic for self-employed citizens.. Make sure to do this between 26 March to 31 July 2020 and you can opt to defer your income tax payments due in May, June and July 2020. All the information you need regarding this is in this website:
https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Individuals/Locals/Paying-your-taxes-Claiming-refunds/Defer-Tax-Payment-for-Individual-Income-Tax/!
- Defer insurance premium
For insurance premium, there are a number of companies/banks that have come up with income support schemes that include deferring your insurance premium payment during this Covid-19 pandemic. These include Great Eastern, AIA, NTUC Income and CIMB. Read all about it on their respective websites, links provided below:
NTUC Income
https://www.income.com.sg/support-scheme
CIMB
https://www.cimbbank.com.sg/en/business/news-and-promotions/promotions/covid19-schemes.html
- Apply for Covid-19 support
Apply for Covid-19 support. If you have been impacted by Covid-19 in any way, this is one of the things that you can do. Covid-19 support comes in three different forms i.e Temporary Relief Fund, Covid-19 Support Grant and The Courage Fund.
The Temporary Relief Fund (TRF) aims to aid lower and middle income citizens and PRs who are in need of financial assistance to help with basic living expenses. Once your application is approved you will receive a one-off cash assistance of $500. One of the main eligibility criteria to attain this fund is to have at least 30% loss of personal income or having had been retrenched due to Covid-19. Applications are open from 1 April to 30 April 2020, so if you fit into this criteria make sure to apply here: https://form.gov.sg/5e85469de009ee0011e262b9.
The Covid-19 support grant is to help Singaporeans and PRs who have lost their jobs or have had contract terminations due to the economic impact of Covid-19. While this application process may be a little more intricate than the TRF, it is one that will really be of assistance to those suffering financially. It offers a monthly cash grant of $800 for three months and also job and training support. Applications open between 1 May to 30 September 2020 at all 24 SSOs and 108 Community Centres/Clubs.
The Courage Fund is the last of the Covid-19 support schemes. This one is a specific fund for low income households who have at least one member who has contracted Covid-19. Everything you need to know about this fund can be found here: https://www.msf.gov.sg/assistance/Pages/covid19relief.aspx#TCF.