Maternity Benefits by Singapore Government 2008
August 23rd, 2008 by ALVIN SOONG
PM Lee at National Day rally speech 2008 annouced a 1.6-billion-Singapore-dollar ($1.1 billion) package. In this national political move he encourages more due to the problem of low and declining birth rates in Singapore.
According to statistics, Singapore’s current fertility rate of 1.29 children per woman is far below the replacement level of 2.1 children. Last year, 37,000 babies were born in the city-state, far short of the more than 50,000 needed. Insufficient number of births would threaten future economic, labour and defence requirements.
Since Singapore’s population of 4.6 million is composed of 25 percent who are foreigners the government is encouraging more others to come and make Singapore their home.
Under the incentives in the latest package, enhanced tax rates can be claimed for income earned this year. The rebate for working parents is:
5,000 Singapore dollars for the first child,
10,000 Singapore dollars for the second and
20,000 Singapore dollars for subsequent children.
Paid maternity leave will increase from 12 to 16 weeks for mothers.
