Approximately 470,000 lower-income Singaporean workers will receive additional support from the Budget 2020 scheme to a total of SGD 810 million (USD 596.8 million) in Workfare Special payments.

These lower-income Singaporean workers began to receive their October payout yesterday.

Workfare was introduced in 2007 as a permanent scheme to top up the salaries of lower-income workers with less means, and to help them save for their retirement.

Since 2007, SGD 6.8 billion in Workfare has been paid to about 890,000 recipients. Targeting Singaporean workers whose earnings are in the bottom 20% of the workforce, the Workfare Income Supplement is paid in the form of Central Provident Fund top-ups for retirement, as well as cash to supplement earned income.

According to the Straits Times, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat, wrote that Workfare and the Progressive Wage Model are key policy innovations to uplift lower-income workers.

"Through Workfare, the Government supplements their incomes with cash and CPF top-ups to provide for both their immediate and retirement needs," Keat said.