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SINGAPORE: Fewer households received ComCare financial assistance from the government in 2023 compared with the previous year, continuing a downward trend in recent times, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said in a report released on Tuesday (Nov 19).
ComCare supports lower-income households with basic living expenses, to help stabilise their circumstances.
There are three major types of ComCare assistance:
According to the MSF trends report on supporting lower-income households, the number of homes supported by SMTA decreased from 27,392 in 2022 to 22,960 in 2023. This was below pre-pandemic levels of 27,989 in 2019, and down from the COVID-19 peak of 36,853 in 2021.
The amount of money disbursed through SMTA also fell from a peak of US$169.7 million (US$127 million) in 2020 to S$112.5 million in 2022 and S$105.1 million in 2023.
MSF attributed these dips to post-COVID-19 economic recovery, labour market expansion in recent years and government support from schemes such as the Workfare Income Supplement scheme and Assurance Package.
For households supported by LTA, there was a marginal drop from 3,857 in 2022 to 3,479 last year. Similar to the SMTA group, this was lower than the 4,175 in 2019.
Last year, a total of S$23 million was disbursed, down from S$24.9 million in 2019 and a 2020 peak of S$28.5 million.
These may be due to more residents working longer years, younger cohorts of elderly having more savings and increased government support for seniors through the likes of the Silver Support scheme and Pioneer and Merdeka generation packages, said MSF.
According to the MSF report, the median monthly amount of cash assistance through SMTA disbursed per beneficiary in assisted households increased by S$20 to S$370 from 2022 to 2023, and up by $70 since 2019.
The ministry said the increase reflects its efforts to ensure ComCare coverage remains adequate through regular reviews.
“The amount of cash assistance provided is customised to each household’s composition, needs, and income,” said MSF.
“For example, households with members who are temporarily unemployed with no income will need more assistance than households that require support to supplement their income from work.”
MSF also reported that most – 67 per cent – of households receiving SMTA had one to two beneficiaries in 2023, while 13 per cent had five or more.
Almost half – 46 per cent – of households that received SMTA had only adult beneficiaries.
For households that received LTA, almost all – 96 per cent – of them had only one beneficiary.
Apart from the financial schemes under ComCare, MSF also has ComLink+ to give financial help to lower-income families, tied to conditions such as getting a stable job, enrolling children in preschools, paying off debt and saving up for a home.
Data collected by MSF from 9,153 ComLink+ families living in public rental housing showed that as of December 2023, more than 60 per cent of them had been employed for six consecutive months or more.
Almost seven out of 10 families were not on financial assistance – which includes ComCare aid among others – and just above half of them saw real income growth.
More than 80 per cent of the families with children of preschool-age were enrolled in preschool.
However, only 26 per cent of the kids who attended anchor operator (AOP) preschools had an average monthly attendance rate of 75 per cent or higher.
When it came to housing, 66 per cent of ComLink+ families did not have substantial savings for home ownership.
“Substantial savings” roughly means that the balances in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) ordinary accounts can cover at least 20 per cent of the estimated price for a 3-room Build-To-Order flat in a non-mature estate in 2023.
While about a quarter of the families had less than three months of rental arrears as well as accumulated substantial savings for a home, MSF found that 93 per cent of them had yet to buy a flat and move out of public rental housing.
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