$70,000 Per Child: What Singapore's New Family Package Actually Changes - E726
episode
BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)
43 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 8 days ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the overall focus of this episode’s discussion?
Seventy thousand dollars for somebody who is of high income is a nice bonus or sweetener. But I think for somebody who earns seventy thousand dollars or maybe less, uh this is equivalent to one year's compensation or two years or even three years compensation.
The question on whether it drives the result they want, which is reversing the slide in total fertility rate. I don't know, I think that's an open question.
I feel like this policy change is huge, but I don't think they've really articulated it.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has announced a package of child care benefits to support families as the Lion City grapples with a record low birth rate and rising concerns over the cost and pressures of raising children. We have several different schemes and ways to support parents. Every Singaporean child will receive almost $70,000 in direct financial support as they grow up.
Hey Cheyenne, good to see ya. It's been what? Quite some time.
Hey Jeremy. Great to see you too.
I think the past couple episodes we did them with Jeremy Tan, the political candidate. Then the recent one we did with Dr. Suen at Novi Health was fun, but this is the long time since we've done a new segment, I guess, one on one, right?
I know. How will I cope when we don't have a buffer between us?
Turbulent and stormy and full of news, I guess. That's the answer to you.
Let's do it. I mean, what what's the latest news? We got this uh National Day rally, right?
How does the new SG Child Support Package amount to almost $70,000 per child?
Lots of new goodies unveiled.
Yeah, that budget, Singapore budget is the talk of town. It's fun to see people from the US message me and say, Hey, I just saw this uh crazy thing that Elon Musk uh you know retweeted, you know, and posted and what's going on there and how do I get in on this, right? Um, for the you know, Singapore baby bonus slash uh you know parental schemes, things like that. Uh but also I think there's a lot of news about, you know, Singapore and Southeast Asia technology that we haven't caught up over the past, you know, three to four months that's helpful to do a quick overview.
Where do you want
to start? Well, I think the fun one is I'm gonna say the Singapore budget. I mean I think that's a fun one because uh you and I have always talked and had long interest, both as parents, um, but also as people in Southeast Asia about Singapore's population and education and I think it's a good encapsulation of many of the issues. Uh so just to recap, uh you know, one big change, the headline figure uh that Elon Musk retweeted. was that, you know, the Singapore government has restructured their parental incentives uh from a cash baby bonus for births. Towards uh, you know, the headline figure being seventy thousand dollars, Singapore dollars for each kid, uh, regardless of birth order, and you know, spread out over the first 17 years of their life, as well as increased child care leave for both parents, as well as uh lowering preschool fees um for you know public schools and so forth.
So those are the headline figures. I think there's a few other points that they mention. But what's your thoughts about that, Shuyen?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's a great recognition that having a kid isn't a one time event. It isn't like, hey, ta-da, you produced it. And then it's sort of an ongoing responsibility slash liability slash stream of expenses. And so I think acknowledging that in terms of way they've structured the payouts is sensible. I do actually think the biggest part of the package that jumped out to me was really around preschool. Because there's always been this gap, right? Once you start first grade or primary one, you're in the public system and schooling is quite affordable. But what do you do from zero to six years old? You know? And People kind of have to cobble together a range of different solutions. And so I think acknowledging that gap through the lowering of of preschool is is really important.
Why is the reduction in preschool fees considered the biggest part of the package?
I think particularly for lower income families who might not have been able to afford, you know, some of the private preschool options and then who also worry that their kids might show up less prepared at primary one versus kids who had a more extensive preschool education.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the overall focus of this episode’s discussion?
0:00–1:31
2
How does the new SG Child Support Package amount to almost $70,000 per child?
1:31–3:56
3
Why is the reduction in preschool fees considered the biggest part of the package?
3:56–6:59
4
Should families take the cash payout now or invest it for compound growth over 17 years?
6:59–9:11
5
What happens to unused childcare‑leave payouts – are they swept into a nest‑egg?
9:11–12:12
6
Is Singapore moving from a voucher‑based system to a shareholder‑based society?
12:12–13:29
7
How might SMEs and coworkers be affected by the expanded childcare‑leave entitlement?
13:29–16:08
8
What are the implications for reservists when childcare‑leave overlaps with national service?
16:08–43:33
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)
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