Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) in 2026: how much it pays, who qualifies and how families use it

How much is the Home Caregiving Grant?

The amount depends on the monthly household income per person (per capita household income, PCHI). These rates apply from April 2026, after enhancements announced in Budget 2025:

Households that own more than one property receive the lowest tier, S$200. Before April 2026 the grant was S$400 or S$250 a month and the income limit was S$3,600. Figures as published by AIC and MOH, checked on 2 November 2026.

Who qualifies

• The care recipient is a Singapore Citizen, or a permanent resident with a Singapore Citizen parent, child or spouse.
• They permanently need some help with at least 3 of the 6 activities of daily living: eating, bathing, dressing, moving from bed to chair (transferring), using the toilet, and walking or moving around.
• They live in Singapore, at home, not in a nursing home, sheltered or welfare home, senior group home or inpatient hospice.
• The household meets the income criteria above.

The care needs are certified in a Functional Assessment Report by a doctor or an approved healthcare professional. People assessed as severely disabled under CareShield Life are also being assessed automatically for related schemes such as the HCG.

How to apply

1. Get a Functional Assessment Report from a doctor or approved assessor.
2. Apply online through AIC’s eService for financing schemes, or in person at an AIC Link.
3. Nominate the bank account the grant should go to: the care recipient’s, or a caregiver’s or family member’s.
4. Once approved, payouts start in the following month and may include the months since you applied. They show as “HCG” on the bank statement.

What can the grant be used for?

The grant is cash, paid to help defray the costs of caregiving. AIC gives examples such as eldercare and caregiver support services in the community, or hiring a migrant domestic worker. There is no list of approved purchases, so families use it in different ways:

• Part of a domestic helper’s salary (households with a Singapore Citizen aged 67 or over can also pay the concessionary helper levy of S$60 a month instead of S$300).
• Day care, home personal care or home nursing visits.
• Transport to appointments.
• Home safety items and monitoring, so the person can be left alone more safely while the caregiver works or rests.

For example, a family receiving S$400 a month might put most of it towards day care twice a week, and use part of it for an alert service that tells them when their parent has not moved for hours on the other days. Birdhouse costs S$25–30 a month with the hardware included. The HCG does not name Birdhouse or any monitoring service: it is simply cash the family decides how to spend.

Other support to claim alongside it

• The Caregivers Training Grant: S$400 in the first year, then a S$200 top-up each April, for approved caregiving courses. See the caregiver support map.
• The Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund for wheelchairs, commodes, hospital beds and other assistive devices.
• Enhanced Home Personal Care (HPC+) for help at home, respite and 24/7 fall monitoring.
• HDB’s EASE programme for grab bars and slip-resistant floors.