Singapore has granted payouts to over 200,000 self-employed persons

So far, over 200,000 self-employed persons in Singapore have benefited from the government’s Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS), which provides quarterly cash payouts to those with less means and family support, and whose livelihoods have been affected by the impact of Covid-19.

As of December 16, some S$1.8 billion (US$1.36 billion) has been paid out to those eligible from April to December, said the Ministry of Manpower in a media release. 

Over half of the beneficiaries were automatically eligible, it said, while the remaining applied successfully for the payout. This makes it seven in 10 applications processed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) that have been approved.

For applications that were rejected, this was because it “involved applicants earning much higher incomes, residing in high value properties or owning two or more properties with their spouses”, while “some could not provide evidence that they were self-employed”. 

READ: Resident employment rate and median income dip in Singapore

Although applications for SIRS will close on December 31, the Singapore government has also introduced a new grant for those who continue to suffer job or significant income losses despite earlier measures.

Called the COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG), eligible applicants will receive support of up to S$500 (US$377) or S$700 (US$527) per month, depending on criteria, for three months.