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4 new ComLink+ progress packages for low-income families in Singapore to receive more financial aid
The additional Singapore ComLink+ aid includes CDA top-ups, employment incentives and verifiable debt repayment.
SINGAPORE — More financial support will be given to lower-income families that take active steps to improve their circumstances, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli announced on Monday (20 November).
The additional aid, named ComLink+, is an enhanced version of the existing ComLink initiative where low-income families with young children living in Housing and Development Board (HDB) rental flats are given co-ordinated support.
Changes introduced by the enhanced ComLink scheme include dedicated family coaches, who will motivate them towards achieving their goals and act as a single point of contact to navigate social support services, as well as progress packages tied to action plans that each family co-develops with their family coach.
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The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said it will introduce four progress packages focusing on ComLink+ families' "key needs and aspirations". These are in the areas of preschool education, stable employment, debt clearance, and home ownership.
The four packages will be rolled out progressively from the second half of 2024 and trialled for three years to assess their effectiveness before potentially bring scaled up:
1. Preschool education
In the preschool education package, the government said it would introduce a package funded by a donor to provide a one-off Child Development Account (CDA) top-up of S$500 to ComLink+ families for each child enrolled in preschool in the year they turn three.
Moreover, the families will also receive CDA top-ups of S$200 for every quarter that the child attends preschool regularly to encourage families to prioritise their children's preschool education and help improve their school readiness and future educational outcomes.
2. Stable employment
The stable employment progress package aims to encourage more adults in ComLink+ families to enter and stay in Central Provident Fund (CPF)-paying jobs that pay a minimum of S$1,400 per month.
Each adult in such families that fulfils this requirement will receive financial top-ups of between S$450 to S$550 in a combination of cash and CPF payouts for every quarter of sustained employment, up to a limit of S$30,000 in total payouts across both the employment and savings packages.
Higher top-ups will be given when two adults in the household work, with a maximum of two working adults per family that can benefit from this package.
3. Debt clearance
The government will introduce a package that is fully funded by donors to match families' debt repayments to their creditors on a one-to-one basis for repayment of debts of up to S$5,000. The debt owed must be verifiable and trackable and does not cover informal debts, such as those owed to family and friends or unlicensed money lenders.
Families must also not be current recipients of ComCare assistance to be eligible, as this usually indicates that the family has not attained financial stability to meet their basic needs. Each family can only benefit once from this package.
4. Home ownership
A home ownership progress package that a donor and the government jointly fund will be introduced to provide families with aid towards saving for a home. The package will supplement every dollar of families' voluntary contributions to their CPF with a S$2 top-up to their CPF Ordinary Account, up to a limit of S$30,000 in total payouts across the employment and savings packages.
The financial top-ups will be provided for as long as the family remains eligible for and fulfils the progress package requirements or until the family reaches the payout limit specified for each package, whichever is earlier.
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