Local says colleague still gets S$2.5k allowance from parents despite working full-time, asks: ‘Is this common in SG?’

SINGAPORE: A local was left scratching his head after discovering that one of his colleagues, despite already working for a few years, still receives a hefty monthly allowance of S$2,500 from his parents.

Sharing the story on the r/singaporefi forum on Saturday (Sep 6), he explained that the colleague has even told his parents he does not need the extra cash, but instead of cutting him off, they brushed it aside and insisted on continuing the allowance to “help him cope with the rising cost of living.”

What made it stranger, he added, is that the colleague is not some pampered, high-maintenance type. In fact, he lives pretty “frugally” and does not come across as “spoiled” or entitled at all.

Perplexed by this unusual setup, he asked other users, “Is this common in Singapore? Personally, I stopped getting ‘pocket money’ once I started to have full-time employment. I would assume the same goes for most people?”

“Some parents just treat their children as babies forever.”

The post quickly gained traction, with many commenters saying arrangements like this are almost unheard of in Singapore. Most pointed out that it is usually the children supporting their parents with a monthly allowance, not the other way around.

One wrote, “When I started working, my parents demanded 25% of my salary and asked me to pay for their holidays… Even now, having moved out, they still demand 10% of my salary as an allowance… I guess I didn’t win the parent lottery.”

Another remarked, “Wow. That is insane.”

A few others, though, said they’ve heard of this happening, but usually only in very well-off families. 

One shared, “I knew someone who is 40, and her dad still asks her every month if she got enough spending money despite having a full-time job, and he wants to transfer her some funds, and she complains to me that her dad still randomly puts money into her bank when she doesn’t need it. Some parents just treat their children as babies forever, but I think it’s so sweet.”

Another commented, “My cousins draw an allowance from their dad. My uncle is loaded, family-office-level wealth. So I guess it is indeed normal for some.”

A third added, “It is not common, though there are ‘fortunate’ children who get monetary help from parents. A younger cousin (late 20s – early 30s) of mine, working adult, had funding from his dad for a 4-room HDB flat fully paid for. He did not have to pay back any loans/money to his father. Such is life.”

In other news, a newly hired worker shared online that his first few months on the job have been miserable, largely because his manager refuses to give him even basic guidance.

Writing on the r/askSingapore forum, he said that whenever he tries to clarify where to get data, who to approach, or even understand how certain work was done before, his manager brushes him off. Instead of pointing him in the right direction, the manager simply tells him to “figure it out” on his own.

Read more: New hire says his manager shuts him down instead of helping, tells him to ‘figure things out’ alone