THE Government will be making a payout of GST Credits and Senior Citizens' Bonus on July 1. It will be the second payment this year, four months after the March 1 payout.

The Finance Ministry said 97 per cent of Singaporeans have signed up for these payments.

Those who have not can still do so - either online at www.gstoffset.gov.sg, or via forms available at community centres, community development councils and Central Provident Fund service centres.

People who submit forms by June21 or sign up online by June 23 will receive their payouts by July 1.

The Government said earlier this year that it was doubling the GST Credits and Senior Citizens' Bonus to help households cope with the economic downturn.

In total, Singaporeans will receive more than $1.1 billion in these two payouts. These are on top of other benefits such as U-Save, rebates - on service and conservancy charges, rent, property tax and personal income tax - the Workfare Income Supplement as well as top-ups to Post Secondary Education Accounts.

As in previous years, grassroots leaders will help reach out to elderly and low-income Singaporeans, including visiting them to help them sign up for their GST Credits.

So far, 97 per cent of those living in one- to three-room HDB flats have signed up.

GST Credits were introduced in 2007 to offset the impact of the two-percentage point hike in the goods and services tax that year.