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Will an endowment of $300,000 per child move the needle?
The motherhood penalty is real. We may need to experiment to see what we can do about it.
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Modest transfers do little to offset a lifetime's "motherhood penalty". What can Singapore do to encourage family formation?
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
Kalpana Vignehsa
Budget 2026 continues a welcome trend of supporting Singaporean households, from the $500 Child LifeSG credits
Given the significant emotional and financial demands of parenting, these public support measures matter greatly, especially given Singapore’s high cost of living and tight labour market. They have also been refined and iterated with considerable care, in response to observed gaps and changing social realities.
