SINGAPORE - Over 85,000 employers will receive about $660 million in Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) payouts by the end of this month, the Ministry of Finance announced in a press release on Friday (March 17).

SMEs will receive the bulk of the amount disbursed at around 70 per cent.

Eligible employers will receive letters from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) by March 31 informing them of the total payout they will be getting.

Employers who wish to check their eligibility can do so at the Iras website from Friday.

The payout will be credited directly into the employers' Giro bank account used for income tax and GST purposes, or issued as cheques to employers.

The WCS, introduced in 2013, is intended to help businesses cope with rising wage costs so that they can free up resources to invest in productivity, and share their productivity gains with their employees.

Under the extended WCS in 2016 and 2017, the Government co-funds 20 per cent of wage increases given to Singaporean employees earning a gross monthly wage of $4,000 and below, over 2015 to 2017.