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DPM Heng announces additional support for parents of newborns amid Covid-19 pandemic

Jewel Stolarchuk
By Jewel Stolarchuk

Singapore — The Government has announced more support for parents of newborns amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a Ministerial Statement in Parliament on Monday (Oct 5), Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that the Government will provide one-off additional support to parents of newborns on top of the Baby Bonus Cash Gift.

The latest initiative comes after the Government provided a one-off cash payout of S$300 to each parent with a Singaporean child aged 18 and below.

Mr Heng, who is also Minister for Finance, said: “We have received feedback that Covid-19 has caused some aspiring parents to postpone their parenthood plans.

“This is fully understandable, especially when they face uncertainty with their income. Hence, to help with expenses during this period, we will introduce a one-off additional support for newborns.

“This will be on top of the Baby Bonus Cash Gift, which provides eligible parents up to S$10,000 in benefits. Minister Indranee will share more details on the additional support soon.”

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, who assists Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on population matters, posted on Facebook the same day: “Parenthood Alert! The Covid-19 situation has caused some who would like to be parents to postpone their parenthood plans. We fully understand this, especially if there is uncertainty about income.

“Hence in his Ministerial Statement today, DPM Heng announced that the Government will introduce a one-off additional support for newborns. This will be on top of the Baby Bonus Cash Gift, which currently provides eligible parents up to S$10,000 in benefits. I will be sharing more details about the new additional support soon.”

The Baby Bonus Scheme was introduced to lighten the cost of raising children, amid Singapore’s declining birth rate.

The Baby Bonus Cash Gift, which is a component of the scheme, helps to defray the cost of raising and caregiving for children during the early years by providing parents with S$8,000 — S$10,000 in cash depending on the number of children a set of parents have. /TISG

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