Celebratory Gifts are given by MINDEF/SAF in celebration of our NSmen’s significant personal milestones in life such as marriage, child birth and adoption. The gift of $100 cash credits is given to eligible NSmen at each personal milestone. 

NSmen will be eligible for the Celebratory Gifts if they legally register their marriage; welcome a newborn; or adopt a child on or after 1 Jan 2016. They must also meet the following criteria at the time of the marriage, birth of the newborn or adoption: 

⦁    Attended at least one NS activity in the last three work years (WYs); 
⦁    Must not have received an ‘E’ grading for any In-Camp Training (ICT) attended in the last three WYs;
⦁    Have not been phased into MINDEF Reserve; and
⦁    Have not committed serious civil and military offences.
 

The work year (WY) starts on 1 April and ends on 31 March of the next calendar year. You are eligible if you have attended at least one NS activity within three WYs from the date of your celebratory milestone. For example, if you registered your marriage on 15 Jan 2021 (WY 20), you are eligible if you have completed at least one NS activity from the start of WY 17 from 1 Apr 2017 to 15 Jan 2021. 

For locally-registered marriages and births, you are not required to apply for your Celebratory Gift.

The following are exceptions:

    a. Overseas Marriage: You can apply for your Celebratory Gifts by submitting a copy of (i) the overseas marriage certificate and (ii) you and your spouse’s NRIC/passport, with the application form at https://www.go.gov.sg/cgform.

    b. Overseas Birth: You can apply for your Celebratory Gifts by submitting a copy of (i) the overseas birth certificate, (ii) you and your spouse’s NRIC/passport, (iii) your child’s passport/ identification document, and (iv) the overseas marriage certificate, if applicable, with the application form at https://www.go.gov.sg/cgform.

    c. Adoption: You can apply for your Celebratory Gifts by submitting a copy of (i) the adoption order issued by the Family Justice Courts, (ii) you and your spouse’s NRIC/passport, (iii) your child’s passport/identification document, and (iv) the overseas marriage certificate, if applicable, with the application form at https://www.go.gov.sg/cgform.

An acknowledgement email will be sent to the email address provided in the submitted form.  

You are advised to zip the documents and submit them as a single attachment. The current maximum limit is 7MB for the entire form. 

You will be notified of your eligibility and how to spend your cash credits via SMS on your mobile number registered on NS Portal.

Alternatively, you can access the ‘Benefits and Support’ module of the LifeSG application to check if you have been awarded the cash credits. You may download the LifeSG application from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (https://go.life.gov.sg/FP7q). Please do not download the app from third-party sites.

The Celebratory Gifts for NSmen are not taxable as gifts for special occasions such as weddings and births of child below the threshold of $200 are waived from tax. 

For multiple births (e.g. twins, triplets etc.) in one delivery, $100 cash credits will be accorded for each newborn. 

No. As long as you meet the eligibility criteria, you will qualify for the Celebratory Gifts. 

You are required to download the LifeSG application from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store at https://go.life.gov.sg/FP7q. You can access your cash credits via the ‘Benefits and Support’ module on the LifeSG application and spend your cash credits at any online/physical merchant accepting payment by “Scan and Pay” via PayNow UEN QR or NETS QR. PayNow QRs registered to the merchant’s personal mobile number or NRIC are not accepted. You may refer to the step-by-step guide by clicking on the ‘How to Use’ tab.

The LifeSG application is only available for download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It is not available for download from the Huawei AppGallery. You can spend your credits by logging in via your SingPass to the LifeSG application using your other devices (such as a tablet) or the mobile phone of your family members or friends.

You can spend your cash credits by logging in via your SingPass to the LifeSG application using your other devices or the mobile phone of your family members or friends. The LifeSG application can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store at https://go.life.gov.sg/FP7q. Please do not download the app from third-party sites.

You can check your eligibility and access your NS Excellence Award/Celebratory Gifts* cash credits in the ‘Benefits and Support’ module of the LifeSG application, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store at https://go.life.gov.sg/FP7q. Please do not download the app from third-party sites.

The cash credits will be valid for at least 12 months. You can view your cash credit validity period and credit balance in the ‘Benefits and Support’ module of the LifeSG application.

For a more seamless redemption experience, you are required to update your mobile number on NS Portal.  If you do not have a valid mobile number on NS Portal, you will be notified via the mailing address provided on NS Portal. Alternatively, you can access the ‘Benefits and Support’ module of the LifeSG application to view and spend your cash credits. 

There will be no extension of cash credit validity unless stated otherwise.

No, the NSEA and CG cash credits are allocated into separate e-wallets. However, you can choose to inform the merchant that you will be paying in multiple transactions for your purchase, and you can spend the cash credits from different e-wallets for each transaction

No, you cannot top up the credit balance in the ‘Benefits and Support’ module of the LifeSG application. For purchases of amounts above your credit balance, you may choose to pay the difference using other payment modes that the merchants accept (e.g. cash, debit/credit cards).

You may choose to top-up your e-commerce wallets like ShopeePay or Lazada Wallet using your NSEA/CG cash credits via the PayNow option. Thereafter, you can pay for your items by selecting the e-commerce wallet as your payment mode. 

For example:

Step 1 : Go to ShopeePay or Lazada Wallet.
Step 2 : Select Top Up.
Step 3 : Select and confirm PayNow as the top up option.
Step 4 : Save or screenshot the PayNow QR code
Step 5 : Access your NSEA/CG e-Wallet on LifeSG application and scan/upload the saved copy of PayNow QR code on the e-commerce platform.
Step 6 : Enter and confirm amount of credits to top-up ShopeePay or Lazada Wallet. 

You can now select ShopeePay or Lazada Wallet as your payment mode to pay for your purchases online.
 

You may spend the cash credits at any online/physical merchant accepting payment by “Scan and Pay” via PayNow UEN QR or NETS QR. These merchants also include various e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada. You may view the verified list of merchants by clicking on the ‘Merchant List’ tab. Please note that the list is non-exhaustive.   

You will see a payment success screen at the end of each transaction if your payment has been successful. You will also be able to view your credit balance and past transactions on the LifeSG application. 

Look out for the PayNow or NETS logo on the SGQR label. You can only spend your cash credits at merchants with PayNow UEN QR or NETS QR. If you are unable to spend your cash credits at merchants who display the PayNow logo, the merchants may have tagged their PayNow account to a personal mobile number rather than the company UEN. 

No, you are only required to log in using SingPass when you first download the application. Subsequent logins do not require SingPass logins again, unless you have (i) not used LifeSG application for more than a year or (ii) deleted the application and re-downloaded it.

Yes, phone authentication, such as passcode, pattern, fingerprint or facial verification, is required to authorise transactions of any amount.

No, your cash credits will be deducted once the payment is successful. 

You can spend your cash credits at any merchant that accepts payment by “Scan and Pay” via PayNow UEN QR or NETS QR. PayNow QRs registered to the merchant’s personal mobile number or NRIC are not accepted.

The cash credits are non-transferable.

No, cashback is not applicable for transactions made using the LifeSG app.

If you have a remaining credit amount of $1 or less, you can transfer your cash credits to your NRIC-linked PayNow bank account in the LifeSG application. You will need to have set up your NRIC-linked PayNow bank account in order to use this feature. 

By accessing your e-wallet in the ‘Benefits and Support’ module of the LifeSG application, you can select “Scan QR to pay” and scan the PayNow UEN or NETS QR label to make payment. You may refer to the step-by-step guide by clicking on the ‘How to Use’ tab. 

The LifeSG application will make payment using the NETS payment rail. 

Some of these online investment platforms restrict the transfer of funds to only accept top-ups from the account holder’s registered PayNow bank account. Thus, you are strongly advised not to spend your cash credits on these platforms. If you have done so, and the merchants have declined your payment(s), please call the NS Hotline at 1800-3676767, or email contact@ns.sg for assistance.

It may be due to one of the following reasons:

For further assistance, you may call the NS Hotline at 1800-3676767 or email contact@ns.sg.
 

The cash credits in the LifeSG application can only be spent at merchants who accept payment by “Scan and Pay” via PayNow UEN QR or NETS QR. PayNow QRs registered to their personal mobile numbers or NRIC instead of a company UEN are not accepted.

You can call the NS Hotline at 1800-3676767, or email contact@ns.sg. 

The care and protection of information, including your personal data, is of utmost importance to MINDEF. Our servicemen are regularly educated on the guidelines for personal data protection, and the need to handle personal data carefully and sensitively. These include the requirement to seek proper approval for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data. 

This redemption programme is a collaboration between MINDEF and GovTech. No personal data will be passed to external contractors for the purpose of implementing this scheme.

As of 16 November 2021