Singapore’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) has announced that 90,000 employers in Singapore will receive more than $600 million in payouts by 31 March 2019 under the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS). 

Through the WCS payouts in March 2019, the Government will co-fund 20% of qualifying wage increases given in 2017 and 2018 to more than 600,000 Singaporean employees.

Through the scheme, SMEs will receive the bulk of the payouts, at around 70% of the total sum disbursed. These payouts will be credited directly into employers’ company’s GIRO bank accounts used for Income Tax and GST, or their bank accounts registered with PayNow Corporate. Employers who are not on GIRO or PayNow Corporate will receive the payouts by cheque through ordinary mail.

It is not necessary to apply to receive the WCS payouts as eligible employers will receive letters from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) by 31 March 2019 informing them of the amount of WCS payouts to be received.

The MOF noted that appeals regarding WCS payouts must be submitted to IRAS by 30 June 2019 and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The WCS was initially introduced in 2013 as a three-year scheme, supporting wage increases made over 2013 to 2015. In the Budget 2015, it was extended for two more years, over 2016 to 2017. Further, in the Budget 2018, it was announced that the WCS will be further extended for three more years, i.e. 2018, 2019 and 2020, to support businesses embarking on transformation efforts and encourage sharing of productivity gains with workers. The Government will continue to fund 20% of wage increases in 2018, which will then be stepped down to 15% in 2019 and 10% in 2020.