so Lawrence Wong just stood up at National Day Rally and said: congratulations, Singapore, you have successfully reproduced at 0.87 children per woman. Here’s almost $70,000 per kid if you promise to keep doing it. Also, singles — we have not forgotten you. We just… put you in the “coming soon” folder.
Every Singaporean child now gets the SG Child Support Package. That’s the new name because “Baby Bonus” sounds like they’re only helping during that stage.
Breakdown of the national fertility bribe:
– $10,000 cash Baby Gift — two tranches in the first year. That’s the government paying you to survive the first 12 months of sleep deprivation, diapers, infant formula and visits to the paediatrician.
– $2,000 a year from age 1 to 16. Birthday money, sorry Uncle Lawrence is busy and can’t attend the party so here’s a little ang pow for you with a virtual pat on the head.
-$5,000 for the first and second child (increasing to $10,000 for the third and subsequent child born on or after 18 February 2025
– $10,000 splashed into the Post-Secondary Education Account at 17 so the kid can afford poly – unless the number of classes has shrunk because of low birth rate.
Sum all that up and it’s $70,000 by the time the child turns 17. In other words, $70,000 stretched over 17 years. First child gets $42,000 more than the old scheme. Third child gets $19,000 more. Even the kids of unmarried parents get the cash now. Progress. Or desperation. No complaints from hunkle. I’m not a moralist.
Also: more childcare leave. 8 days for one kid, 10 for two, 12 for three or more. The generous government will pay the employer so your boss can’t pretend the company can’t afford extra help so you can do something about your laptop that has been doused in milk.
More good news. Full-day childcare fees at government-supported preschools in Singapore will drop to $150 a month and infant care fees will fall to $300 a month by 2030. Hang in there but don’t celebrate too soon. We don’t know what’s coming up in 2030. Next, BTO income ceiling has gone up. Extra ballot chance per child. The more you make in a tiny space, the more chances you get for a bigger space.
Now for the real question. Will this move the TFR needle? PM Wong himself plainly said that it still won’t be enough because it will still fall short of replacement, so there is no reason to stop importing people. The gift is not “have more babies.” The message behind this gift is this “if you already decided to give up being DINKs, here’s some money so you suffer slightly less while we import the rest.”
“And to our singles — we have not forgotten you.”
What did they actually get? Income ceiling for singles 35 and above buying HDB: $7,000 to $8,000. That’s the “gift”. An extra thousand dollars of projected income so you can still lose the BTO ballot to a couple with one child and two extra chances.
How does it actually work out? Parents get $70k stretched over 17 years, extra leave, cheaper childcare and priority housing. Singles get a slightly higher income cap so more of them don’t have to buy resale or private apartments. Somebody should stop insulting our intelligence by saying “huat ah”.
All these goodies are funded by taxpayers. Parents are rewarded because they are producing the next generation of taxpayers. Being single may not be so bad because singles are not necessarily footing the bill if they incur less expenses and GST than parents.
Look, I’m not against helping parents. Raising a child here is an extreme sport involving 996 culture, tuition, and the constant fear that your 4-room will never be big enough. A bit of help is better than no help. But let’s not pretend this is a love letter to family. This is a state looking at a 0.87 fertility rate which according to DPM Gan is an existential challenge. We’re also looking at a super-aged society.
Just the other day, I saw two uncles on PMA’s fighting for their right of way by horning and cursing on the MRT train. What Uncle Lawrence is saying is: we will pay you to manufacture more taxpaying Singaporeans, and if you refuse, you are the ones not protecting the Singaporean core. Effectively, everybody is doing national service here – either by producing the babies or supporting other people’s babies.