NDR 2026 🇸🇬
Big themes tonight were on families, culture and growing bigger. Here’s what PM Wong announced:
👶 Child Support Package
Baby Bonus + Large Families schemes getting replaced with one simpler package: up to S$62k per child till age 17. The key part is that the core benefits are the same amount regardless of birth order. No more first-child-gets-less logic.
• S$10k Baby Gift (before age 1)
• S$32k Child Credits age 1–16 (incl. S$2k/yr cash)
• S$5k CDA First Step + up to S$5k co-match
• S$10k PSEA top-up at 17
Throw in MediSave + Edusave → ~ S$70k per kid all in. Disbursements start progressively from 2027, including age-appropriate benefits for existing children.
Families with 3+ children will also continue getting additional support in areas like healthcare, transport and housing.
🏠 Housing
• Feb 2027: first-timer families get +1 ballot chance per SC child aged 18 and below, including babies on the way (BTO/SBF)
• HDB household income ceiling up S$14k → S$16k, with corresponding increases to several housing schemes and loan eligibility thresholds (from 24 Aug)
• Singles income ceiling also up S$7k → S$8k
👨👩👧 Leave + preschool
• Childcare leave now tiered by no. of kids → 8/10/12 days per working parent for 1/2/3+ kids respectively, for parents with children up to age 12
• Govt fully funding statutory child-related leave incl. maternity, up to existing reimbursement limits
• Full-day childcare fees down to S$150 (infant care S$300) at govt-supported preschools by 2030 → will be “less than half” of today
More importantly, PM Wong asks for employers to provide stronger support for employee-parents, letting them take their entitled leave without worry, and supporting their transition back to work!!
🎬 Culture
Dialect films allowed in cinemas from Sep 2026 (with Chinese subtitles + dubbed ver), subscription TV dialect limits removed. Mandarin still mainstay for free-to-air.
📱 Social media
Might raise min age beyond 13 if platforms don’t tighten up, alongside stronger age verification and safeguards for children online.
🏝️ Growing bigger
Plans to merge Semakau/Bukom/Sudong + smaller isles into one new Western island, Sentosa–Brani integration reaffirmed, and they’re studying undersea tunnels to Tekong 👀
My thoughts 🧠: clearly a step in the right direction for families.
The flat per-child structure is the smart move as it removes the old birth-order difference in the core benefits and just treats every kid the same, while larger families can still get additional support.
However, can’t help noticing it’s very family-heavy. Singles carry a lot of the same cost-of-living weight and there wasn’t much for them today. So hopefully that’s still something on the govt’s radar to be announced later. 🫶
