Higher Earned Income Relief
Today, persons with disabilities are eligible for a higher Earned Income Relief (EIR).
The Handicapped EIR ranges from $4,000 to $12,000, depending on the age group.
In addition, there are various schemes which support the employment of persons with disabilities. These include the Enabling Employment Credit and the Open Door Programme.
Enabling Employment Credit
The Enabling Employment Credit is a scheme which provides wage offsets to employers of PwDs.
The EEC will be paid to employers of Singaporean PwDs aged 13 and above, and earning below $4,000/month. In addition, employers who hire a PwD who have not been in employment for the past six months will receive an additional wage offset for the first six months of employment. (See Table 1)
Open Door Programme
The Open Door Programme (ODP) aims to encourage employers to hire, train and integrate persons with disabilities.
It is a government funded initiative by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Workforce Singapore (WSG) and administered by SG Enable.
The programme provides grants and employment support services to persons with disabilities and their employers.
For example, the ODP Job Redesign Grant helps employers to recruit and retain persons with disabilities by supporting up to 90% of the job redesign costs, capped at $20,000 per employee with disability, whichever is lower.
The grant can be used to defray the cost for the following job redesign initiatives:
SG Enable works with partners such as the Autism Resource Centre and MINDS to provide up to one year of job matching, training and other support services for persons with disabilities.
In 2023, SG Enable also launched the Enabling Business Hub, which seeks to bring training and employment opportunities closer to the homes of persons with disabilities.
The first EBH – EBH@Jurong – is located beside Lakeside MRT at 111A Yuan Ching Road, Singapore 619606.
The hub provides targeted training and support to prepare persons with disabilities for employment in the logistics sector.
It also provides on-site employment support, including longer and more intensive employment support for persons with disabilities with higher work support needs and require a longer runway of support to work independently in the community.
Workfare Income Supplement (WIS)
All PwDs who earn a gross monthly income of at least $500 gets the maximum payout of $4200 a year in WIS which is paid in cash as well as CPF contributions.
The WIS will be enhanced in 2025 with the payout raised to $4900 and the qualifying monthly income wage cap raised to $3000.
Assistive technology to improve quality of life
The Government provides support to PwDs in acquiring and maintaining assistive technology to improve their quality of life.
Eligible persons with disabilities from lower- and middle-income families can tap on the Assistive Technology Fund and receive subsidies of up to 90% of the cost of the required equipment, subject to a lifetime cap of $40,000.
