SINGAPORE: Watching Budget 2023 was a bit like unboxing what Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong described as a “Valentine’s Day present to all”.
Especially when it came to parental perks, the Government seems to have pulled out all the stops. Baby bonuses will be boosted to S$11,000 for eligible first- and second-born children, and S$13,000 for the brave who have a third or more children.
This cash sum will be disbursed over a longer period, stretching till the time the child enters primary school: Up to S$9,000 in the first 18 months, then S$400 every six months from two till six-and-a-half years old.
Newborns will automatically get a larger Child Development Account (CDA) First Step Grant of S$5,000, while the Government’s co-matching cap for children who are the first or second child will increase to S$4,000 and S$7,000, respectively.
Each child will also receive a one-time injection of either S$300 in their Edusave or Post-Secondary Education account or S$400 in their Child Development Account, depending on their age.
For working mothers with children born from 2024, their tax relief under the Working Mother’s Child Relief will be changed from a percentage of their earned income to a fixed sum of S$8,000 for their first child, S$10,000 for their second child, and S$12,000 each for their third and subsequent children. This means that higher-income mothers will receive a lower amount of tax relief than before, but lower-income mothers will benefit.
Government-paid paternity leave will be doubled from two to four weeks for parents with children born from 2024. Unpaid infant care leave, which can be taken in the child’s first two years, will also be doubled to 12 days per year.
All in all, the Government seems intent on shaping a better Singapore for families.
But does this mean we can sit back, enjoy the spoils and expect our families to be well taken care of?