Update on Recipients of COVID-19 Recovery Grant

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to recipients of the COVID-19 Recovery Grant (a) whether the Ministry tracks how many of these recipients successfully obtained a new job after the end of the disbursement of the grants; and (b) if so, what is this number to date.

The COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG) provides financial assistance to lower- to middle-income resident employees and self-employed persons who, as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19, are:

(a) Involuntarily unemployed due to retrenchment or contract termination;

(b) Placed on involuntary no-pay leave for at least three consecutive months or;

(c) Experiencing monthly salary loss or net trade income loss of at least 50% on average for at least three consecutive months.

The CRG assistance provides temporary support while recipients actively search for new job or training opportunities, which is also a criterion to qualify for the grant.

While MSF does not track if CRG recipients have obtained a new job at the end of their disbursements, we provide successful CRG applicants with relevant website links to job search and training resources to support their efforts. As of 31 December 2021, about one-fifth of all CRG recipients, or about 5,500 recipients, have received a second tranche of assistance.

Returning CRG recipients could be one proxy of who needs further help. We have also worked with NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) to contact and offer job search assistance for those who experience prolonged job or income loss and receive a third tranche of CRG. CRG recipients whose assistance has ended can also approach SSOs, WSG or e2i if they need employment assistance.