Singapore has signalled a serious intent to strengthen family and childcare support among its citizens following announced plans to introduce several initiatives, including increasing the leave days working parents are entitled to based on the number of children.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the plans during his National Day Rally (NDR) speech on Sunday.
Sharing details of the proposed policy, Mr Wong said every working parent would automatically get 8 days’ childcare leave if they have one child, up to the age of 12-years-old. 10 days if they have two children in their care, and an additional two days with three or more children.
“When you add it up, the increase is significant,” he said, noting that a working couple with three children would get 24 days’ childcare leave in all, up from four days currently.
The Baby Bonus and Large Families schemes for new parents will be replaced by the new “SG Child Support Package“, providing up to $62,000 per Singapore Citizen child from birth to age 17, regardless of birth order, the Singapore Government Agency (SGA) reports.
- $10,000 Baby Gift in cash, disbursed in two tranches within 12 months of a child’s birth. This provides more substantial upfront help with the higher expenses incurred at birth and in the child’s first year.
- $32,000 Child Credits in cash, with $2,000 disbursed annually over 16 years, from the year the child turns 1 to the year the child turns 16. This provides sustained help through the child’s growing years.
- $5,000 Child Development Account (CDA) First Step Grant (FSG).
- Up to $5,000 in Government co-matching of CDA. The CDA will be extended to the end of year the child turns 16, instead of 12 years old today, giving parents a longer period to benefit from Government co-matching and use CDA funds for approved child-raising expenses.
- $10,000 top-up to the child’s Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) in the year the child turns 17. This will help parents by defraying the costs of higher education. SGA reports
Additional childcare support measures included daycare and early childhood assistance.
Under the new proposed policy, the daycare and pre-school fees will also incrementally be reduced by 2028, with more details around the execution set for 2027.
