As we’ve touched on in our last blog, having a baby in Singapore is expensive. Like, really expensive. But raising a child? Yeah, that’s expensive, too! It’s easy to feel you’re drowning in bills, receipts, payments, and debt after having a baby, but that’s where the Baby Bonus scheme and grant comes in.
The Baby Bonus scheme was made to help parents afford the high costs of child rearing in Singapore. To elevate the birth rates, the Singapore Government started this baby bonus to entice more couples to have babies.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore has taken quite the blow as unemployment is currently high and many couples have waffled with their plans to have children. However, to ease some of these concerns, the government announced a one-off Baby Support Grant of S$3,000 on Friday, October 1st which will be handed out to all parents of Singaporean children who were born from October 1, 2020 through September 30th, 2022!
But that’s not quite all – this S$3,000 baby support grant is on top of the existing Baby Bonus cash gift that can go up to S$10,000. This price tag is all determined on you and your partner’s lifestyle and how you operate day to day.
Let’s lay out some details of how to cash in on the baby grants available.
Baby Support Grant
As we already mentioned, the one-off baby support grant of S$3,000 is a freebie for parents for Singaporean babies born between October 2020 and end of September 2022 – and there are no restrictions for what you can do with this money.
According to MoneySmart, “The grant will be deposited into the CDA account at the bank (DBS, OCBC or UOB) that the parents have chosen to receive the Baby Bonus cash gift.”
Unsure if you’re eligible for the Baby Support Grant? We gotcha covered.
First, you and your partner need to be lawfully married under Singapore law. Second, your baby must be a Singaporean citizen born within the aforementioned dates.
The grant can still be offered to your family if your child was born before the October 1st date. You need to provide a scanned copy of the certified Estimated Date of Delivery (EDD) to the government for review.
Baby Bonus Scheme
Now for the Child Development Co-Savings Scheme (We know, Baby Bonus Scheme is easier to say). This bonus payout comes to families in three different ways: cash gift, CDA First Step, and dollar-for-dollar matching.
- Cash gift (S$8,000 to S$10,000): You can register for the scheme up to eight weeks before you give birth, but single moms do not receive this cash. Only state-sanctioned families can receive this. This is the first amount of free money you’ll receive with EACH child and is given through your bank account via direct deposit.
- CDA First Step (S$3,000): This grant is deposited by the government when you open a CDA (Child Development Account) under the name of your baby. Take your pick between DBS/POSB, OCBC and UOB to manage the account, and remember it is automatically opened once the baby is born!
- Dollar-for-dollar matching (up to S$15,000 depending on birth order): Since the CDA is considered a co-savings account, for every $1 you put in, the government will also put in $1. This will go on until the child is age twelve and limits are set depending on birth order.
Parenthood Tax Rebate and Single Parents
The last benefit is the Parenthood Tax Rebate (otherwise known as PTR) which is available to those who adopted a child and single parents. You must be a Singapore tax-paying resident who is married, divorced, or widowed.
If your first-born child was born after the year 2008, you will receive S$5,000 and this amount doubles for your second child. If there are three or more children (birth order pending) this shoots up to S$20,000.
As far as single parents go, they do not get to reap the benefits of the maximum baby bonus and are disqualified from the baby bonus cash gift component completely. However, single parents can still qualify for the PTR mentioned above and the CDA bonuses.
Summary
While raising children isn’t easy or cheap, it is doable. Want more financial advice and ideas of how to save along the way? We have you covered, subscribe to our blog!
Resources used:
https://blog.moneysmart.sg/family/baby-bonus-scheme-baby-support-grant/
https://blog.seedly.sg/baby-bonus-singapore-payout-schedule-cda/