COVID-19: S'pore to provide one-off baby support grant of S$3,000

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government will provide a one-off Baby Support Grant of S$3,000 for children born between Oct 1, 2020 and Sept 30, 2022.

It is aimed to ease couples’ financial concerns about having a child in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, said the National Population and Talent Division in a statement today.

In its recent survey commissioned with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the division said about three in 10 respondents said they are likely to delay their plans to get married or to have a child, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the economy.

As age affects fertility, marrying and having children later may result in families being unable to have the number of children they aspire to have, it said.

The division said the Baby Support Grant of S$3,000 supplements the existing Baby Bonus Cash Gift and adds to the Marriage and Parenthood Package.

Singapore parents are expected to receive the grant from April 1, 2021.

-- BERNAMA