The Chairman of the Steering Group on Population and Minister for
Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, announced today a comprehensive
new package of measures to support parenthood. Going well beyond
financial incentives, the new package takes a holistic and coherent
approach to help couples have and raise children.
The Steering Group on Population, comprising Mr Lim, Dr Yaacob
Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment & Water Resources, and
then-Minister for Community Development & Sports; Dr Ng Eng
Hen, Minister for Manpower; Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State
for Finance and Transport; and Dr Amy Khor, Mayor, South-West CDC,
had been tasked to recommend specific proposals to address the problem
of declining birth rates in Singapore.
Overview of the Package
Mr Lim highlighted three key features of the new package. First,
the new measures address not only cost issues but a broader set
of concerns preventing Singaporeans from having larger families.
The measures seek to give parents the opportunity to spend more
time with their children, pursue a range of childcare options, and
strike a better balance between work and family life. Second, the
new measures have fewer conditions than previous measures, making
them more accessible to Singaporeans. Mr Lim cited as an example
the removal of mother’s age and educational qualifications
as qualifying criteria for the revised tax measures. Third, the
new measures provide greater flexibility in supporting the variety
of choices that parents make because of their differing circumstances.
For example, there will now be support for a wider range of childcare
arrangements.
“We have taken the approach of asking what we can do to help
Singaporeans at each stage or aspect of their journey as parents”,
said Mr Lim. The new package of measures can be grouped under five
broad categories, each addressing a specific aspect of parenthood.
Promoting Marriage HDB Top-up Grant for Singles who Marry. Currently, qualifying
singles may receive a CPF housing grant of $11,000 to buy a resale
flat. Singles who have obtained this grant, and who marry on or
after 1 Aug 2004, will now receive a Top-Up Grant to the prevailing
CPF family housing grant. Based on the prevailing family grant quantum,
a couple can receive a top-up of up to $29,000[1]. The top-up can
be used to offset the mortgage loan of the existing resale flat
or for the purchase of another resale flat.
Making Child Birth More Affordable Use of Medisave for 4th and Higher Order Births and Pre-Delivery
Expenses. Currently, Singaporeans can use their Medisave to pay
for the delivery expenses for their first three children. They will
now be able to use Medisave to pay for pre-delivery medical expenses
(e.g. ultrasound scans) in addition to delivery expenses, for all
their children[2]. These measures will apply to parents of babies
born on or after 1 Aug 2004.
Use of Medisave for Assisted Conception Procedures. Couples who
face difficulty conceiving will be able to use more from their Medisave
accounts to pay for Assisted Conception Procedures (ACP), such as
In-Vitro Fertilisation. Couples who start their ACP treatment cycles
on or after 1 Aug 2004 will benefit from this change.
Providing Financial Support for Raising Children Enhanced Baby Bonus. Currently, the Baby Bonus is given only
for the second and third child, with the cash paid out over 6 years.
The Baby Bonus will now be extended to the first and fourth child,
and the cash paid out over 2 years. Parents of Singapore Citizen
babies born on or after 1 Aug 2004 will enjoy a Baby Bonus of $3,000
cash if the baby is their first child, up to $9,000 cash and matching
contributions if the baby is their second child, and up to $18,000
cash and matching contributions if the baby is a third or fourth
child. The accelerated disbursement of the cash component over 2
years will give parents more immediate support, as costs are generally
higher when the child is younger. The matching contributions can
be used readily to defray expenses such as infant care, childcare
and kindergarten expenses for all children in the family.
Parenthood Tax Rebate and Working Mothers’ Child Relief. Parents
of Singaporean children will also benefit from enhanced income tax
benefits. The new Parenthood Tax Rebate – without age requirements
or qualifying claim periods - will provide tax rebates of $10,000
to $20,000, depending on the birth order of the child. The new Working
Mothers’ Child Relief - without qualifying educational criteria
- will provide working mothers a tax relief of 5% to 25% of their
earned income, depending on the number of children they have. These
tax measures will apply to parents of Singapore Citizen babies born
on or after 1 Jan 2004 (for Year of Assessment 2005).
Enhancing Child Care Options
Longer Maternity Leave. Working mothers of Singapore Citizen babies
will now have a total of 12 weeks paid Maternity Leave, compared
to the previous 8 weeks. The additional 4 weeks’ leave may
be taken any time within 6 months from birth. Employers will continue
to pay for 8 weeks of maternity leave taken for the first and second
child, while the Government will pay for the additional 4 weeks
for the first and second child, and the entire 12 weeks for the
third and fourth child, subject to a cap of $10,000 per 4 weeks.
The extension in maternity leave will be legislated on 1 Oct 2004.
For mothers of Singaporean babies born during the period 1 Aug 2004
to 30 Sep 2004, the Government will also pay the extended maternity
leave if it is given by their employers, subject to a cap of $10,000
per 4 weeks.
New Childcare Leave. Working parents with any child below 7 years
of age, will be eligible for 2 days of employer-paid Childcare Leave
per year, from 1 Oct 2004.
Infant Care Subsidy. Parents of Singapore Citizen infants, aged
2 to 18 months and attending licensed infant or child care centres,
will receive an infant-care subsidy of up to $400 per month, from
1 Aug 2004. MCYS will look into ways to increase the availability
of infant care places if there is good demand.
Foreign Domestic Worker Levy Concession. Families employing foreign
domestic workers will now pay a lower Foreign Domestic Worker Levy
of $250 (compared to the current $345) if they have a Singapore
Citizen child aged below 12 years staying in the same household.
The lower levy will also be available to families which have a Singaporean
parent, parent-in-law, grandparent or grandparent-in-law aged 65
years and above staying in the same household, or if the employer
or spouse is a Singaporean aged 65 years and above. These concessions
will take effect from 1 Aug 2004.
Grandparent Caregiver Tax Relief. Working mothers whose child is
being cared for by his or her grandparents will get a Grandparent
Caregiver tax relief of $3,000. This applies to working mothers
of Singapore Citizen children aged 12 years and below as at 1 Jan
2004 (Year of Assessment 2005).
Encouraging Better Work-Life Balance WoW! (Work-life Works!) Fund. Many Singaporeans have said that
their decisions to have another child depend heavily on whether
they can have a healthy balance between work and family life. To
help create a workplace environment that helps Singaporeans harmonise
family and work commitments, the Government will introduce a new
$10 million WoW! Fund. This fund will provide financial support
to companies to develop and implement family-friendly work practices,
such as flexible work arrangements for staff. Organisations may
apply to MOM for the fund from 22 Oct 2004.
A Sizeable Package Benefiting a Large Number of Singaporeans ”Our declining birth rate is an issue of long-term national
significance. Efforts to promote parenthood therefore warrant a
substantial investment by the Government”, said Mr Lim. The
new measures will cost the Government an estimated $300 million
each year, bringing Government’s total annual expenditure on
pro-family measures to about $800 million per year. Most of this
money will not go towards financial incentives, but will go instead
to the child’s educational development, paid leave for parents,
and provision of more child care options.
Mr Lim said that the measures will benefit a large number of Singaporeans.
For example, some 35,000 Singaporean couples each year are expected
to benefit from the measures related to childbirth, such as the
use of Medisave for pre-delivery expenses, the enhanced Baby Bonus,
and extended paid maternity leave. About one in four households
have children aged below 7 years, and therefore stand to benefit
from the new childcare leave, while about one in two families employing
a foreign domestic worker will benefit from the foreign domestic
worker levy concession.
Public and Tripartite Consultation Mr Lim said that the new package of parenthood measures was
the result of extensive public consultation and feedback from Singaporeans.
He elaborated that the Steering Group took into account feedback
gathered from some 1,600 public emails, 380 telephone calls and
650 media stories and forum letters. The Steering Group also organised
11 focus group sessions involving about 150 people and invited a
tripartite panel comprising employer and union representatives to
submit its recommendations to the Government. Thanking those who
had contributed their views, Mr Lim said the feedback has enabled
the Steering Group to develop a package of measures that is “coherent,
practical and helpful for Singaporean families”.
A Long Term Effort by Everyone “This package is not only about helping to increase our
birth rate. Ultimately, it is about making Singapore a great place
for families,” said Mr Lim. He cautioned, however, that it
was not realistic to expect improvements overnight. “This is
a long-term effort that will require mindset changes in our homes,
workplaces, and society at large, on the value of family life and
parenthood. But I am confident that we will get there, through the
combined and sustained effort of parents, employers, the media,
the Government, and all Singaporeans,” said Mr Lim.
More Information
Members of the public may call the Parenthood Hotline at 1-800-511-0000,
or visit the Parenthood Website, www.family.gov.sg,
for more information on how they can benefit from the new measures.
