Government understands the hardship of bringing up and child especially on the costs of living
Here are 4 Child benefits that families in Singapore receive from the government.
With a declining birth rate in Singapore, the government has been cracking its brains to reverse this trend and increase the birth rate in Singapore. Though monetary might not proven to be a big factor in getting a child but monetary incentives will definitely help out to small families
1. Baby Bonus Gift Card
In case you didn’t know, for each Singaporean child born, you will receive upfront cash of $6,000 for each of your 1st and 2nd child, and subsequently $8,000 for each of your 3rd and 4th child. This cash gift will not be paid in one shot but it will be disbursed over 3 installments in the first 12 months of the birth of your child.
2. Baby Bonus Child Development Account
This is essentially a dollar-for-dollar matching savings scheme for your children where you can open with either OCBC or Standard Chartered Bank. Meaning with how much you put in, the government will be matching you savings to the account. These funds can be used for prescribed withdrawal purposes like childcare centre fees, medical expenses and approved healthcare items. You may do a search of the approved institutions here.
3. Tax Incentives
You can have you tax incentive if you have a child where you can claim for tax rebates from the government, under the Parenthood tax rebate (“PTR”) and working mother’s child relief (“WMCR”). The PTR grants you a rebate of $5,000 for your 1st child, $10,000 for your 2nd child and $20,000 for your 3rd and subsequent children. For WCWC, it a tax deduction on the income you’ve earned – 15% for your 1st child, 20% for the 2nd, and 25% per child thereafter, subject to a maximum of 100%
4. Parenthood Leave
Last but not least would be the extra day off that you can earn from your child birth. Besides 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, fathers can also enjoy 1 week of paternity leave within 12 months of your baby’s birth.
It takes a lot of consideration before can decide on a child birth but certainly, it ain’t bad to receive something from the government (almost equivalent to $50k++ when you add everything up) for child birth in Singapore.