Lai, lai, lai, come. Let’s talk money.

It’s not Chinese New Year but that’s not going to stop the government from giving you some extra cash this year.

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So who’s going to get the extra cash?

This year, Singaporeans over the age of 21 will receive a red packet from the Government worth up to $300.

2.8 million Singaporeans will be receiving this hongbao and the Ministry of Finance said that about $700 million will be paid out for the SG bonus.

Why So Good?

If you’ve been paying attention, especially to Budget 2018, you’d know that Singapore did pretty well last year.

Singapore’s national budget for 2017 had a surplus of $9.61 billion.

“As announced at Budget 2018, the Government will be giving a one-off SG Bonus to all adult Singaporeans this year. This reflects the Government’s long-standing commitment to sharing the fruits of the country’s development with Singaporeans.”

The previous time this happened was back in 2011 where 2.5 million Singaporeans were given between $100 to $800 for “growth dividends”.

The amount you’ll get is determined by your Assessable Income in 2017:

Assessable Income (AI) for Year of Assessmet (YA) 2017*=

Up to $28,000 gets $300
$28,001 to $100,000 gets $200
Above $100,000 gets $100

*Those who own more than one property will receive $100 instead

Letters will be sent out to eligible Singaporeans from 2 October 2018 onwards to inform them about the amount they’re going to get.

So make sure to keep an eye out on your letterbox, eh?

Alternatively, you can log in with your SingPass at the Singapore Budget’s website from 2 Oct onwards to check your SG Bonus benefits.

That is, if you still remember your SingPass password #justsaying

By When Will You Receive The Money?

So, that’s the interesting part about this hongbao giveaway. The Ministry of Finance said that the SG bonus will be distributed to Singaporeans by Dec 2018.

However, if you have registered your PayNow account with your NRIC number, you’ll be able to receive the money earlier.

PayNow (registered to NRIC): 30 Nov 2018

To be eligible for receiving your SG bonus by PayNow, you’ll have to register your NRIC to your bank account by 7 Nov.

You can apply for PayNow via your respective bank’s internet banking or mobile banking services.

Just take note that even if you have PayNow, if it’s not registered to your NRIC, the government can’t pay you via the service.

Very ingenious way to convince Singaporeans to accept new technology, don’t you think? 🙂

(Article continues below) Xing Xing is a 34-year-old Singaporean lady who decides to meet up with an online friend she found in Facebook. But it turns out that he’s not what he seems to be: Prepare boxes of tissue and watch the saddest Singapore Facebook love story here:

(Since you’re here, subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more informative videos lah)

Direct Bank Crediting: 10 Dec 2018

Be sure to check your bank account details on the letter sent to you, and update by 7 Nov if there are any bank account details to be changed. Just remember: the money still only come in in 10 December 2018.

Cheque: 20 Dec 2018

This one pretty clear-cut, isn’t it?

So if you want to register for PayNow or have the bonus credited directly into your bank account, be sure to register accordingly by 7 Nov.

You can also choose to donate your SG Bonus via their website or the SG Cares mobile application.

So, what can you do with your $300 bonus? Well, we’ve heard that JB’s a pretty good place to go to since the exchange rate is at 3:1 right now.

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