Low-income families to get more support for health, housing under ComLink+

SINGAPORE – Close to 1,600 families have signed up for support packages under the ComLink+ scheme, where low-income households get financial incentives and other support if they take steps to improve their lives, such as holding stable jobs with CPF contributions.

Later on in 2025, a new model of support to address the health needs of families on ComLink+ will be rolled out.

“We are weaving health and social support together. Being healthy enables us to live, work and pursue our aspirations,” said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua on March 10, during the debate on his ministry’s budget.

“But families trying to make ends meet may find it hard to keep track of medical appointments or need help identifying relevant healthcare services.”

For example, family coaches will guide families to lead healthier lifestyles, such as by adopting more nutritious diets, exercising regularly and getting health checks.

For families with complex health conditions, these coaches and healthcare staff will help them develop and adhere to customised health plans.

People struggling with poorly managed chronic asthma, for instance, will be reminded to take their medicine and see their doctors as scheduled. They will also be advised to change their lifestyles.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will also partner the Housing Board to guide families towards owning their own homes.

For instance, when families initially move into highly subsidised public rental flats, HDB officers will help them work out the incomes and savings needed to buy their desired flats, and the family coaches will guide them to achieve their goals.

The two measures are the latest developments to the ComLink+ scheme, which was unveiled in 2023 as part of a national push to boost social mobility. A unique feature of the scheme is family coaches, who will motivate and support families in working towards their goals.

The scheme was first offered to families with children living in public rental flats, and about 10,000 families in such flats are now on ComLink+.

Since March 2024, it has been extended to low-income families who are not living in public rental housing and who meet certain criteria. For example, these families are eligible for

the KidStart programme

or their children are at risk of long-term absenteeism from school.

In August 2024, the first of four support packages under the ComLink+ scheme was launched. The pre-school package aims to

spur families to send their children to pre-school by the age of three.

Under this package, children enrolled in pre-school will get a one-time $500 top-up to the Child Development Account (CDA) in the year they turn three. The CDA is a special savings account for children that can be used to pay for pre-school and other fees.

And children between the ages of three and six will get a $200 CDA top-up every three months if they attend pre-school regularly. 

The employment package was then launched in December 2024. Under this package, beneficiaries will get financial incentives if they find jobs that pay Central Provident Fund contributions with a gross salary of at least $1,400 a month. 

Adults with jobs that meet the criteria will get top-ups of between $450 and $550 in a combination of cash and CPF payouts for every quarter that they are employed. 

If two adults in the same household qualify, they will each get an extra $50 every three months. A maximum of two adults per family can benefit from the employment package geared towards encouraging families to find stable jobs.

Mr Chua said that close to 1,600 families are on either or both the pre-school and employment packages.

The other two support packages, to encourage families to save up for HDB flats and help them clear debt, will be rolled out in the coming months, he said.

During his Budget speech on Feb 18,

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the amounts that recipients of the Government’s ComCare financial aid scheme get will be increased from April.

On March 10, Mr Chua said that the MSF has enhanced ComCare to reflect “the evolving cost and definition of basic needs”.

He added that recent studies from Singapore Management University and the Institute of Policy Studies found that Singapore residents see social activities and the ability to handle minor exigencies as basic needs, and that they feel the Government and the community share the responsibility of providing for such needs.

That is why the MSF is increasing the ComCare rates to support these needs, alongside the ministry’s regular reviews of ComCare, he said.

An MSF spokesman told The Straits Times that regular reviews of ComCare incorporate the latest prices to account for inflation and ensure the sums given are adequate for the “evolving needs” of families.

“In the latest review, we took account of the need for flexibility to meet other essential needs such as affordable social activities and a buffer for minor exigencies,” the MSF spokesman added.

Those on the ComCare Long-Term Assistance scheme, which helps the destitute who are permanently unable to work because of old age or illness and have little or no family support, will get an additional $120 a month for a one-person household.

From April, a one-person household will get $760 a month, up from $640 currently.

Meanwhile, families on the ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance (SMTA) scheme will also get more financial help, though the sums will differ based on their compositions, needs and incomes.

The SMTA scheme gives families temporary financial aid to cover the shortfalls in their incomes to meet their basic living expenses.

In 2023, the median sum for each beneficiary on the SMTA was $370 a month, according to the latest data contained in the Supporting Lower Income Households Trends Report released by the MSF in November 2024.

In 2023, a total of 22,960 families were on the SMTA scheme, while there were 3,479 families on the Long-Term Assistance scheme.