The government announced its budget for the year 2022 on 29 Oct 2021, setting aside RM332.1 billion for spending next year. Part of this money will be used to give cash assistance and other benefits to Malaysians. Read on to find out some of the key benefits you could get from Budget 2022!

Cash assistance

Following the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) cash aid given this year, next year the government will introduce Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) for the following groups:

Who can get it?	What can you get?
Households with less than RM2,500 monthly income and three or more children	RM2,000
Single mother/father with up to RM5,000 monthly income	RM500
Senior citizens	RM300
Single individuals earning less than RM2,500	RM350

Civil servants will also be given special cash assistance as follows:

Who can get it?	What can you get?
Civil servants Grade 56 and below	RM700
Government retirees	RM350

Other cash assistance available under Budget 2022 include:

RM150 per student to buy schooling supplies
RM100 for teachers under the Ministry of Education

Affordable insurance schemes

Perlindungan Tenang and mySalam are affordable insurance introduced by the government to help all Malaysians get insurance coverage. Under Budget 2022, B40 groups who sign up for the Perlindungan Tenang affordable insurance scheme can get a RM75 voucher to buy insurance under the scheme. The voucher can also be used to help buy motor insurance for 150cc motorcycles and below from 1 Jan 2022.

Under mySalam, coverage will be expanded to include BKM recipients. Claims for medical device benefits will also be extended to dependents of eligible mySalam recipients.

To find out more about these schemes, read our blog.

Tax relief and subsidies

To help Malaysians have more cash in their hands, the government announced tax relief and subsidies including:

Extension of special individual income tax relief of up to RM2,500 for the purchase of mobile phones, computers and tablets until 31 December 2022
Extension of 100% sales tax exemption on locally made cars and 50% on imported cars until 30 June 2022
Extension of tax relief of up to RM1,000 for local holidays until the 2022 year of assessment
Expansion of RM4,000 tax relief for EPF contributions to include voluntary contributions from employees such as gig workers
50% subsidy or up to RM150 for B40 households to buy child safety car seats
Tax relief of up to RM3,000 for fees paid to registered child care centres or kindergartens until the year of assessment 2023
Higher individual income tax relief for up-skilling and self-enhancement course fees of RM2,000 up until the 2023 year of assessment
Tax relief of up to RM7,000 for courses with any professional body in areas including accounting and finance
Government to pay for the full cost of motor vehicle road tax for private cars owned by the disabled

To learn more about tax relief and to understand the basics of tax filing, read our guide.

Youth

The government also announced some benefits for the youth, including:

Tablets for all B40 students studying in institutions of higher learning under the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia programme
RM150 in e-wallet credit for those aged 18-20 years and those studying full-time at institutions of higher learning under the eStart Programme
Assistance of repayment for PTPTN loans from 1 Nov 2021-30 April 2022, covering:
- 15% discount on outstanding debt for payments made in full
- 12% discount on outstanding debt for payments of at least 50%
- 10% discount for repayment through salary deductions or direct debit

Retirement planning and savings

Some Malaysians may have been hoping for the government to allow more early withdrawals of EPF following the i-Citra, i-Lestari and i-Sinar schemes introduced in 2019 and 2020. Although there were no more of such schemes announced in Budget 2022, the government did announce some initiatives related to retirement savings.

These initiatives include:

Extension of reduction in minimum employee EPF contribution rate to 9% from 11% until June 2022
Expansion of government matching of voluntary contributions under i-Saraan scheme to include those aged between 55 and 60 years (The government matches at least 15%, or up to RM250, of i-Saraan contributions made by EPF members)

To learn more about retirement planning and savings, read our guide on saving in EPF or our blog about voluntary EPF savings.

Employment insurance

As some Malaysians have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis, under Budget 2022 the government will increase benefits from SOCSO. SOCSO provides insurance for workers who fall ill or get injured while working.

Among the increased benefits include:

Increase in the monthly invalidity pension to RM550 from RM475. The invalidity pension is provided for workers who become too sick or disabled to work
Higher maximum monthly salary coverage to RM5,000. (The rate of SOCSO contributions are based on how much you make every month. Read our blog to learn more about how SOCSO works and what benefits you can get from the scheme.)