Yahoo Finance How much GST Voucher Benefits will you get in 2015?
On 30th June 2015, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced that 1.6 million Singaporeans would be receiving letters informing them of how much GST Voucher (GSTV) benefits they will receive on the first week of July in 2015.
Let us breakdown GSTV benefits obtainable for 3 different age groups
1) Group 1: Age 21 to 54 in 2015
2) Group 2: Age 55 to 64 in 2015
3) Group 3: Age ≥65 in 2015
Group 1: Age of 21 to 54 in 2015
CASH:
For Singaporeans age between 21 to 54 years old, they will only be getting cash GSTV benefits (excluding U-Save and S&CC rebates).
Exhibit 1: Cash Component in GSTV Benefits for Age 21 – 54 in 2015
Source: Ministry of Finance
You can get your assessable income value from the “Notice of Assessment” letter that you should have received from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) or you can log into myTAX Portal on IRAS’ webpage.
As for the annual value of your home, you can obtain it from the Property Tax letter that IRAS should have sent to you. Generally, most HDBs have an annual value of below or equals to $13,000.
Group 2: Age of 55 to 64 in 2015
CASH:
The cash portion for Singaporeans between the age of 55 to 64 years old will be the same as those age 21 to 54 years old (refer to Exhibit 1).
Plus MEDISAVE:
To add on, the government will be topping up the Medisave of the people in this age group for a total of $500 or $1,000, over the next 5 years.
Exhibit 2: Medisave Top-ups For Those Who Do Not Enjoy Pioneer Generation Benefits
Source: Ministry of Finance
Group 3: Age 65 and above in 2015
CASH:
This age group will be obtaining the highest cash component of GSTV benefits due to the one-off senior bonus GSTV scheme.
Exhibit 3: Cash Component in GSTV Benefits for Age ≥65 in 2015
Source: Ministry of Finance
The first $600 will be disbursed in August 2015 and the next $300 in November 2015. Bringing a total of $900 in cash for the year of 2015.
Plus MEDISAVE:
The Medisave portion will be broken into 2 segments, (1) one-off top up for the year 2015 and (2) annual top ups – amount depends on age group.
Exhibit 4: One-off Medisave Component in GSTV Benefits for Age ≥65 in 2015
Source: Ministry of Finance
Looks complicating? We suggest just looking into the column that matters to you.
Exhibit 5: Annual Top-ups into Medisave for Age ≥66 in 2015
Source: Ministry of Finance
Cash and Medisave top-ups for the year of 2015 for ≥65 years old may enjoy up to a total of $2,150 ($900 cash + $450 one-off Medisave + $800 annual Medisave top up) in GSTV benefits for 2015.
Note: If you are 65, your annual top up will follow the amount stated in exhibit 2
Are the GSTV benefits enough for you?
Extra money will never be enough, however we should note that GSTV benefits are in place to help those struggling low to middle income households with some of their expenses.
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