Debt Relief for Families Due to COVID-19 | What Financial Options Are Available For Families?



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The COVID-19 situation has caused tremendous stress on our lifes. Many families may be suffering from reduced income or have issues servicing existing debt. 

Managing Debt For Families

We are not experts in the financial space but when Lendela approached us to share about their services and how they help families reduce their debt burden during these unprecedented times, we saw the value in preparing a resource kit for families who may be financially impacted by the current situation. 

The information provided in this article is research from online sources as well as with assistance from Lendela.

Lendela is a platform that helps individual seek out the best possible loan offer. Simply apply on Lendela and they will help you to apply with multiple banks and lenders, helping you compare across multiple personalised offers and to make a more informed decision on the loan to take. 

Refinancing Your Debt

Managing Debt For Families

Say you have multiple loans, from credit cards to housing loans, you may wish to review the interest rates of your loans and to see if you can reduce the interest payment by taking a lower interest loan to repay the existing loans. 

For example, the interest rate on a personal loan will typically be lower compared to the interest rates on a credit card debt. 

Take Note: beyond looking at the interest rates, you should also consider other factors such as early repayment penalties, loan terms and any other fees involved. You want to be paying less overall, not more!

  • Use Lendela to get multiple quotes from various banks and lenders. This saves you time in getting multiple quotes, and help make the comparison process easier. 

  • Find out if you are eligible for the Special Financial Relief Programme (Unsecure)
    • The SFRP (Unsecure) is a MAS measure to support individual and companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
    • Eligible individuals may request your bank to convert your credit card / credit line debt into a term loan with an effective interest rate of 8% p.a. 
    • To be eligible, you will need to be Singaporean or PR and prove that you lost 25% of income since Feb 2020.
    • Find out more by contacting your bank directly. 

Additional COVID-19 Support Grant

For families who have suffered a job loss or income reduction of at least 30% for at least 3 consecutive months, you may apply for the COVID-19 Support Grant

Starting from 1 Oct 2020, individuals may apply for the COVID-19 Support Grant to receive monthly cash grant of up to $800, for 3 months. Individuals who have received the grant previously, may also apply to receive additional 3 months CSG support. 

There are a number of conditions, in particular applicants must be

  • Singaporean or PR aged 16 yrs and above,
  • job loss/NPL/at least 30% reduced income after 23 Jan 2020
  • Gross monthly household income less than $10,000 or monthly per capita income less than $3,100
  • Full list of conditions are listed here

You may apply for the CSG from 9 am to 6 pm daily till 31 Dec 2020.

 

This article is prepared as a brief introduction to the measures available. Please go to the official websites for full information and conditions required to be eligible as well as for any up-to-date information. 

 

Do you know of other resources that we may share? Let us know in the comments so that we can add them in too! 

 



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This article is prepared by

Jiarong Yu
Daddy to 2 adorable little ones. Misses them the moment they are not around, regrets missing them the moment they are around.

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