Singapore has announced a major expansion of financial support for families, with the government set to provide each Singaporean child with almost S$70,000 in direct and related support from birth through the teenage years.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the package on Sunday during the country’s National Day Rally, as Singapore intensifies efforts to encourage people to have more children amid a record-low birth rate.
“Every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 in direct financial support as they grow up,” Wong said, adding that the government wanted to give families greater confidence and support throughout their children’s development.
Under the government’s SG Child Support Package, a child can receive up to S$62,000 from birth to age 17, although the money will be distributed through different benefits rather than as a single payment.
The package includes:
- S$10,000 cash gift paid in two instalments during the child’s first year.
- S$2,000 annual child credits from ages one to 16, bringing the cash component to S$42,000.
- S$5,000 deposited into the Child Development Account.
- Up to S$5,000 in government matching contributions to the account.
- S$10,000 top-up to the child’s post-secondary education account at age 17.
- Existing S$5,000 MediSave support for newborns and about S$2,500 in education contributions are also included in the overall package.
The government said transitional payments will begin in 2027.
Singapore is also reducing childcare costs. From 2028, monthly fees at government-supported centres are expected to fall, with full-day childcare capped at S$150 and infant care at S$300 by 2030. This compares with current costs of roughly S$600 for full-day childcare and more than S$1,000 for infant care.
The measures come as Singapore faces a severe demographic challenge. Its resident fertility rate fell from 0.97 children per woman in 2024 to 0.87 in 2025.
The country recorded nearly 30,000 births in 2025, representing an 11.4% decline from the previous year. Births among Singaporean citizens also fell by 10.8% to slightly above 26,000.
Singapore has already committed billions of dollars to marriage and parenthood initiatives, with S$7 billion budgeted for such measures in fiscal year 2026.
The government hopes that reducing the financial burden of raising children, particularly childcare and education costs, will make parenthood more attractive and help reverse the country’s declining birth rate.
