The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will extend the application period for the COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG) until 31 December 2023. This will provide continued support to individuals, whose financial and employment circumstances are affected
by the current economic climate.
CRG application period extended until 31 December 2023
2 CRG was introduced on 18 January 2021 to provide
financial assistance to lower to middle-income employees and self-employed persons (SEPs) who experience involuntary job loss, no-pay leave (NPL) or significant income loss for at least three consecutive months. The CRG is part of a suite of measures
introduced by the Government during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 6 November 2022, MSF has supported around 31,000 individuals through the CRG and disbursed about $75 million in total.
3 While Singapore has
transitioned to living with COVID-19, there are individuals whose financial and employment circumstances are still affected by the pandemic. Macroeconomic uncertainties, like recessionary fears in Europe and the United States, continue to weigh on
the economy. Individuals impacted by job loss, NPL or income loss may hence face greater difficulties in coping financially. Therefore, MSF has decided to extend the CRG application period by another year, until 31 December 2023, to continue providing
support for affected workers.
Adjustments to CRG income criteria, job search requirement and valid economic activity period
4 To provide
targeted support to those with greater need and made more effort to improve their employment circumstances, some of the CRG eligibility criteria will be revised from 1 January 2023 onwards. The full set of revised CRG eligibility criteria is in Annex
A. The key adjustments are in the areas of income eligibility criteria, job search requirement and updated period for valid economic activity. Please refer to Table 1 below for the adjustments.
No changes to remaining CRG eligibility criteria
5
There is no change to the amount of financial support provided in each tranche of CRG, which is as follows
(A) Up to $700 per month for three months to employees who are
• Unemployed
due to retrenchment or involuntary contract termination; or
• Placed on involuntary NPL for at least three consecutive months.
(B) Up to $500 per month for three
months to
• Employees who are facing salary loss for at least three consecutive months, with an average overall loss of at least 50%; or
• SEPs who are facing NTI
loss for at least three consecutive months, with an average overall loss of at least 50% at the point of application, compared to their average monthly NTI in 2021 or 2022.
6 Eligible individuals will
continue to be able to receive up to three tranches of support under CRG. Those who receive a third tranche of CRG will also be able to receive further assistance with their job search from NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and
Workforce Singapore (WSG), as per the current practice.
7 The application portal for CRG remains available on go.gov.sg/CRG, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
8 Applicants are encouraged to prepare their supporting documents in advance for a smooth application process (please see Annex B for examples of supporting documents).
9
Those who need help completing the online application form can call the ComCare Call hotline (1800-222-0000) or email Ask_SSO@msf.gov.sg. Those who are unable to apply online
can visit their nearest Social Service Office (go.gov.sg/ssolocator) for assistance.
ISSUED BY
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT
CRG media release.pdf