Dear seniors, the writing is on the wall. You may not be retiring anytime soon. Singapore just hit a new record low in the total fertility rate TFR: 0.87 babies per woman in 2025.
Yes, you read that right. We’re officially not just below “replacement level” but edging dangerously close to “who’s going to visit me in the old folks’ home?” territory. If our population were a Tinder profile, it would be getting zero matches and a polite “It’s not you, it’s the HDB waiting list.”
So why aren’t we making babies? Sorry, I need to say we. Our PM says it’s our problem. Let’s be honest, the reasons are painfully obvious and relatable to the majority of peasants: –
- The Great Singaporean Cost Calculator. Raising a kid here feels like signing up for a lifelong subscription that includes tuition fees, enrichment classes, and the occasional “why is my child learning quantum physics in Primary 3?” moment. Housing prices? Let’s just say your three-room flat dreams of having siblings too.
- Work Hard, Parent… what work? We clock in, we grind, we stay late because “face time” is still a thing. By the time you reach home, you’re too tired to even debate whose turn it is to wash the dishes, let alone create a whole new human. Romantic, right?
- The Delay Train Has No Brakes. Millennials and Gen Z are out here collecting passport stamps, career titles, and “self-care” experiences like spa, gym and daytime hotel use. Marriage? Maybe after the promotion. Kids? Yao mo gao chor ah?
Government to the Rescue… Sort Of
Our leaders have been throwing money, housing priority, Baby Bonuses, and parental leave at the problem for decades. Bless their hearts. It’s like trying to fix a leaking roof with very expensive umbrellas. They recently announced another “Marriage and Parenthood Reset” workgroup. I can already picture the PowerPoint slides: more cash, more childcare/subsidies, more “please lah, have one more.”
Here are some of Indranee Rajah’s statements on Singapore’s low TFR that have drawn eye-rolls, memes, and other yao mo gao chor ah reactions online.
1. The “Career Detours” Classic (April 2026)
In interviews promoting the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup, she suggested “normalising” women taking 2–3 year career “detours” to have and raise kids — framing them as “not sacrifices or setbacks”, but just a normal pit stop. Employers should welcome mums back with open arms, no “maternity penalty.”
Many working mums and netizens pointed out the jaw-droppingly obvious — she’s 63, unmarried, and childless. Comments ranged from “If it’s so easy, why didn’t you take one?” to “Talk is cheap when you’ve never had to do it.” One Facebook analyst basically said: don’t put her as the spokesperson because credibility matters. To add to the confusion, didn’t somebody say that we’re not hungry enough?
2. “More Babies Than Last Year Would Be Really, Really Good”
When asked for a target TFR figure, she declined and went with: “What would really, really be good is if we have more babies than we had last year, and if our TFR figure is better than it was last year.”
Sounds like Minister Indranee will be celebrating if the TFR inches up to 0.88, but are such increases significant enough to show that the measures are working?
3. “It’s Not Just Economic — We Need a Society-Wide Reset on Mindsets”
There she goes again, emphasising that this is about “intangibles”: mindsets, values, personal goals, joys of parenting vs “horror stories,” reducing stigma on fertility treatment, etc. Government can’t intrude too much; society (employers, families, influencers) must step up.
Fair point in theory, but after decades of Baby Bonuses and packages with limited success, it lands like “just be happier and throw the contraceptives away, bro.” Many replies boil down to: “My bank account and boss don’t support this reset.”
4. “This Is an Existential Challenge… We Will Spare No Effort”
Standard line in her parliamentary speech and interviews — existential threat, whole-of-society effort, etc. It’s not uniquely lame, but paired with tiny incremental tweaks and yet another workgroup (report due 2027), it feels like a familiar script: acknowledge crisis → form committee → reframe the results. What does “spare no effort” mean? Raid our reserves?
In conclusion, Indranee isn’t saying anything wildly untrue — low TFR *is* a serious problem, mindsets matter, and workplaces need fixing. But the delivery (especially the detour line from someone without kids) has made her the lightning rod for hollow talk. Only horny teenagers don’t realise that getting pregnant is no fun. The workgroup might deliver, but right now the comms are giving strong “government knows best but hasn’t lived it” energy. 😅What’s your “favourite” quote from her on this?
Don’t get me wrong — the intentions are good. But sometimes it feels like we’re barking up the wrong tree while the actual monkeys (long working hours, kiasu education pressure and the general “I need three promotions before I feel ready” mindset) are chilling in another forest entirely. Financial carrots are nice, but when your average young Singaporean is choosing between a gap year or “detour” to see the world and a baby, the baby rarely wins.
The Funny (But Serious) Part
At this rate, our future National Day parades might feature more robotic dancers than actual school children. Seniors like me may have to work till 80.
But hey, there’s still hope. If the reset actually tackles the real stuff — shorter (or at least saner) work hours, education that doesn’t feel like a Hunger Games spin-off, and making family life feel joyful instead of like a second full-time job — maybe, just maybe, our TFR can climb back up. Trouble is, our obsession with “progress”, “excellence”, “efficiency”, “punctuality” and “financial prudence” is at the very core of being Singaporean. Remember a time when the government ask us if we want to be like Greece? Well, if we were a little more like the Greeks (TFR 1.3), we might not have such a serious problem with our TFR.
I remember our newsPAPer journalist Tan Sai Siong once wrote a piece about smelling the roses. She said that if we want to smell the roses (an idiom advising people to slow down, relax, and appreciate the beauty and small joys in life rather than constantly rushing), we should cultivate our own rose garden (taking it literally). Being a newsPAPer, I’m sure that’s our government’s message for the populace as well. The root of the problem lies in society being too demanding on us and we in turn being too demanding on society – a mindset that gives us a healthy GDP, period. Meanwhile, the Greeks wear this self-deprecating T-shirt. What do you think a Singaporean in a similar situation would do?
Until Indranee Rajah and her team can surprise and entice us, many young couples will be here enjoying their child-free, stress-free weekend. Yes, they ought to worry about who is going to pay for their retirement in 2050, but then, who thinks that far? I’ve already done my part and raised two young men. Over to the youngsters and frankly, apart from virility, I don’t envy you.