National Day Rally 2026: 4 Major Announcements That Will Benefit Singapore Families Financially

With Singapore’s total fertility rate falling to 0.87, one of the key themes of this year’s National Day Rally was how to better support couples in starting and raising a family. And Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally speech did not disappoint.

In what was perhaps one of the most substantial series of announcements on family support in decades, the Prime Minister announced major upgrades to existing policies to better support families with children.

#1 Parents Can Get Up To 12 Days Of Childcare Leave A Year

One of the biggest changes announced at National Day Rally 2026 is a substantial increase in childcare leave for working parents.

Currently, each parent gets six days of childcare leave a year if they have a child aged six and below, or two days if their children are aged seven to 12. This number remains the same regardless of how many children they have. For example, if a married couple have three kids, two of whom are in primary school and one below the age of 6, they receive 6 days of childcare each, per year.

Under the new scheme, parents will instead receive eight days for one child, 10 days for two children, and 12 days for three or more children. This applies to children aged 12 and below (i.e. primary school).

The difference can be substantial for parents. A working couple with three primary school children currently receives just four days of childcare leave combined. Under the new scheme, this increases to 24 days combined, or six times more than what they used to have.

Equally importantly, the Government will reimburse employers for the full duration of statutory childcare leave, subject to the existing cap of $500 a day or $2,500 a week, including CPF contributions. The start date for the enhanced childcare leave will be announced later, as legislative changes are still required.

#2 Every Singaporean Child Will Receive Around $70,000 In Support By Age 17

Another major change is the introduction of the SG Child Support Package, which will replace the financial support currently provided through the Baby Bonus Scheme and Large Families Scheme.

Under the SG Child Support Package, every eligible Singapore Citizen child will receive the same baseline support, regardless of birth order. This shifts from the current Baby Bonus system, where benefits generally increase for later-born children.

This starts with a $10,000 Baby Gift in cash, paid in two tranches within the first year. Parents will also receive a $5,000 Child Development Account (CDA) First Step Grant, with up to another $5,000 in dollar-for-dollar Government co-matching. Also, as mentioned by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), the CDA will remain open until the end of the year the child turns 16, compared to age 12 today.

The biggest component, however, is the new Child Credits. Every eligible child will receive $2,000 a year from age 1 to 16, for a total of $32,000. When the child turns 17, another $10,000 will be credited into the Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) to help with further education expenses.

Altogether, the SG Child Support Package itself provides up to $62,000 per child. Including the existing $5,000 MediSave Grant for Newborns and roughly $2,500 of Edusave contributions over primary and secondary school, each Singapore Citizen child will receive around $70,000 in direct financial support from birth to age 17.

Source: NPTD

Crucially, the SG Child Support Package will also benefit existing families, not just future parents. Children aged 1 to 17 in 2026 will receive the relevant benefits based on their age, including the annual Child Credits and, where applicable, the $10,000 PSEA top-up.

#3 Full-Day Childcare Fees Will Be Cut To $150 A Month

Preschool is another major recurring expense for parents, and the Government will significantly reduce fees at Government-supported preschools.

Once the changes are fully implemented, full-day childcare fees for Singapore Citizen children will be reduced to $150 a month, while full-day infant care fees will fall to $300 a month, before means-testing. These are less than half of today’s fees, while lower-income families can continue to pay even less after means-tested subsidies.

Source: NPTD

The reductions will be rolled out progressively from 2028, with the target fee levels expected to be reached by 2030.

Subsidy eligibility is also changing. Today, full childcare and infant care subsidies are generally available only where the main subsidy applicant (usually the mother) works at least 56 hours a month. In future, families with Singapore Citizen children will be able to receive the full subsidies regardless of the applicant’s working status. More details will be announced in early 2027.

Read Also: Are CDC Vouchers Working Against Large Families With Multiple Children?

#4 Higher BTO Income Ceilings And More Ballot Chances For Families With Children

Housing support is also being expanded.

The monthly household income ceiling for BTO flats will increase from $14,000 to $16,000 for families, while the ceiling for singles will rise from $7,000 to $8,000. For Executive Condominiums (ECs), the household income ceiling will increase from $16,000 to $18,000. The higher BTO income ceiling will also apply to buyers of resale flats who want to qualify for the CPF Housing Grant, as well as those applying for an HDB housing loan.

There will also be more help for first-timer families with children to secure a flat. From the February 2027 BTO exercise, they will receive one additional ballot chance for every child they have or are expecting. There is no cap on these child-related additional ballot chances. So if you have five children, you get five more additional ballot chances.

Read Also: Why HDB Needs To Start Building Bigger Flats For “Large Families”

More Support For Larger Families Is Still To Come

While these measures already represent a sizeable expansion in support for parents, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also highlighted that large families (i.e. those with three or more children) will receive additional support in specific areas.

Details will be announced later. The Government is studying how to reposition and extend the existing $5,000 Large Family MediSaveGrant to existing larger families that have not received it. The Ministry of Transport will also introduce additional support to help larger families manage transport costs, while the Ministry of National Development is studying further housing support for them.

In other words, the National Day Rally announcements may not be all that the government has planned for family support. More measures, especially for families with three or more children, could still be introduced in the months ahead.

Read Also: Should HDB Consider Allowing Large Families To Buy 3Gen Flats?

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