Higher annual property value thresholds for support schemes to ensure aid for those in greater need
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This is to ensure that Singaporeans with greater needs continue receiving support against the backdrop of rising annual property values.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE - Singaporeans with greater needs will continue receiving help with the Government raising annual residential property value thresholds used to determine eligibility for social support schemes.
The move, which takes effect from 2024, comes against the backdrop of rising annual property values, the authorities announced on Nov 30.
These support schemes include the GST Voucher scheme,
From Jan 1, 2024, the annual value threshold will be raised from $13,000 to $21,000 for the first tier, which provides a higher quantum of benefits. This new threshold will cover all Housing Board flats, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said. The second tier, which offers a lower quantum of benefits, will see a higher annual value threshold as well.
The revised annual value threshold of $25,000, up from $21,000, will cover about three-quarters of residential properties, including some lower-value private homes.
For example, an eligible owner-occupier of a five-room HDB flat with an annual value of $11,000 in 2022 would have received $700 in GST cash vouchers in 2023.
If the annual value of this person’s property rose to $14,000 in 2023, and assuming other eligibility criteria are met, he will receive $850 in GST cash vouchers in 2024.
Had the annual value thresholds not been revised, this individual would have received the lower-tier quantum of $450, MOF said.
A property’s annual value in the preceding year determines an individual’s or a household’s eligibility for social support schemes in a given year.
Separately, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that any change in subsidy or assistance arising from changes in residential property annual values will be automatically extended to healthcare schemes.
MOH uses residential property annual values in conjunction with per capita household income for means testing or as a proxy of means for individuals with no household income.
This determines the amount of subsidy or financial help that individuals are eligible for when using inpatient, day surgery, outpatient and long-term care services, the Community Health Assist Scheme, as well as MediShield Life and CareShield Life premiums.
For example, in 2023, an eligible patient with no household income would be means tested based on his residential property as an owner-occupier of a five-room HDB flat with an annual value of $11,000 in 2022.
As this falls within the existing first annual value tier of up to $13,000, this patient would have received an 80 per cent subsidy for an inpatient stay if he chose a B2- or C-class ward in a public acute hospital.
In 2024, if this patient’s per capita household income remains unchanged, and his home’s annual value in 2023 climbs to $14,000, and other eligibility criteria are met, he will continue receiving 80 per cent subsidy as an inpatient in the same ward classes.
