Today, I received letter regarding Child Development Credit for my daughter. I believe this is relevant to many Singapore families, thus I will provide more information here.
On 18 Feb, 2011, the government announced a new Child Development Credit scheme to all Singaporean children aged six and below (born from 1 Jan 2005 to 31 Dec 2011), to help families with young children meet their expenses.
The government will give Child Development Credits from time to time to share surpluses. This is similar to the way that the government provides top-ups to Edusave accounts for school-going children and to Post-Secondary Education Accounts (PSEA) for students to use when they go on to tertiary education.
What can the Credits be used for?
The Child Development Credits can be used to pay for a child’s or his/her siblings’:
- Fees at Approved Institutionswhich have registered with MCYS under the Baby Bonus Scheme:
- Child care centres;
- Kindergartens and special education schools registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE) or the Council for Private Education;
- Early intervention programmes registered with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) or the Centre for Enabled Living (CEL); and
- Healthcare institutions licensed under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (PHMC) Act.
- Medishield or Medisave-approved private integrated plans.
How much will children be getting?
The quanta of Child Development Credits will be tiered according to the Annual Value of the child’s home, as at 31 December 2010.
Children living in properties with an Annual Value of up to $13,000 will receive $400, while children living in properties with an Annual Value of more than $13,000 will receive $300.
Where will the Credits be paid to?
The Child Development Credits will be paid into the Child Development Account (CDA). For those who do not currently have CDAs, they will be able to open accounts to receive their Credits.[1]
For more information on Child Development Credits, please click here.