Leong Mun Wai proposes $1,250 monthly allowance for parents or grandparents who are full-time caregivers of young children

SINGAPORE: An issue discussed in Parliament earlier this week was for caregivers and what kind of assistance can be extended to them while they perform their duties at home or if they choose to return to the workforce.

This is not a new issue, having already been addressed during the Budget debate in 2019 by Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How.

This week, however, Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai (Progress Singapore Party) suggested a $1,250 allowance for parents or grandparents who are full-time caregivers for children under seven.

“This allowance is expected to be a game-changer, as it will provide real and effective support for full-time homemakers and caregivers,” he said.

In a speech he titled “Family Motion: Reimagining our Current Policies”, Mr Leong first talked about Singapore’s total fertility rate, which hit a historic low of 0.97 in 2023.

He said that PSP believes that the government has a duty to create conditions where Singaporeans feel economic and financial security, as this would give them optimism for the future and confidence that they can raise families in a conducive environment. Its policies, therefore, should reflect this.

Among the points he raised concern was recognizing the “great unpaid contributions of homemakers and full-time caregivers of young children,” particularly mothers, many of whom choose at the expense of their careers to raise their children.

Grandparents, as well, have filled the gap with caregiving duties, Mr Leong added.

In line with this, he brought up a proposal for the Government to pay one parent or grandparent registered as a full-time caregiver of a Singapore Citizen child from birth until age seven the amount of $1,250 as an allowance.

The NCMP first brought up the idea of a monthly allowance for full-time caregivers of young children in his Budget speech in 2023.

He added that those given this allowance would no longer be eligible for Government subsidies for full-day childcare and infant care programmes. Additionally, individuals who provide part-time caregiving or those who serve as babysitters would also not qualify.

Mr Leong, who welcomed his first grandchild last year, added that he himself falls into this category.

He said that such a scheme would allow a 35-year-old full-time homemaker to receive $1,000 in cash and $462.50 in CPF contributions, and a 75-year-old grandparent would, meanwhile, receive $1,156 in cash and $156 in CPF contributions. /TISG

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