Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a slew of measures to support parents in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 23.
To start, working parents will be entitled to more childcare leave. Under the new arrangement, every working parent will get eight days with one child aged 12 or below; 10 days with two children and 12 days with three or more children.
Currently, childcare leave is not tied to the number of children a parent has. Working parents receive six days if their youngest child is aged six or below, and two days if their youngest is aged seven to 12.
To illustrate, PM Wong used a working couple with three primary school children. “Today, the couple receives a combined four days of childcare leave. Under the new arrangement, they will receive a combined 24 days,” he explained.
Today, the couple receives a combined four days of childcare leave.
The cost of all statutory child-related leave, up to the reimbursement limit, will be covered by the government which will reduce the financial burden of employers. Currently, the financial cost of child-related leave is shared between the government and employers.
Support doesn’t stop at birth
More support will also be provided for children as they grow up.
Every child will receive S$2,000 in Child Credits each year from age 1 all the way to 16, and will also receive annual Edusave top-ups during primary and secondary school. When they turn 17, another S$10,000 will be added to their post-secondary education account.
Taken together, every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 in direct financial support as they grow up, Mr Wong said, adding that because every child will receive the same level of support, families with more children will naturally receive more support overall.
Over the next few years, a lowering of full-day childcare fees at government-supported preschools to S$150 a month, and infant care fees to S$300 a month is also being planned. Government-supported centres currently have enough places for about 80 per cent of preschoolers. While subsidies have made preschool more affordable, some families still pay nearly S$600 a month for full-day childcare and more than S$1,000 for infant care.
To make the lower fees more widely available, the network of government-supported operators has to be significantly expanded, the Prime Minister added.
In housing, first timer families applying for a new flat will receive one additional ballot chance for every child they have or are expecting.
Meanwhile, the income ceiling for BTOs and executive condominiums will be raised to S$16,000 and S$18.000 respectively so that more Singaporeans have access to public housing.
