Close to 200,000 Self-Employed Persons benefitted from Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme

About $1.8 billion disbursed; applications to close on 31 December 2020

1. Close to 200,000 Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) have benefitted from the SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS), which provides quarterly cash payouts to SEPs with less means and family support, and whose livelihoods have been affected by the COVID-19 situation. To date, about $1.8 billion has been paid out to support affected SEPs from April to December 2020.
2. Over half of the beneficiaries were automatically eligible, while the rest successfully applied for the scheme. About seven in 10 applications processed by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) have been approved, as we have exercised flexibility in the qualifying criteria to support more SEPs. The applications which were not approved involved applicants earning much higher incomes, residing in high value properties or owning two or more properties with their spouses. Some could not provide evidence that they were self-employed.
3. As announced at the Supplementary Budget, the SIRS payouts will cover affected SEPs till end December 2020. Applications will hence close on 31 December 2020. Separately, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will introduce a new COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG), which will provide financial assistance to eligible SEPs and employees. MSF will announce the details of the CRG separately.