F. Nurturing A Caring And Inclusive Society

115. A major part of our Forward Singapore agenda is to nurture a more caring and inclusive society – one where every Singaporean feels valued and supported, regardless of age, ability, and circumstance. And in this year’s Budget, I will take further steps towards these goals.

Improving the Resilience of Vulnerable Families

116. Families play a key role in strengthening our society and supporting each of us to be the best version of ourselves.
117. Lower-income and vulnerable families face more challenges. So we will do more to support their efforts to achieve stability, self-reliance, and mobility.
118. In 2023, we introduced ComLink+.
1. a. Under this initiative, we are providing more customised support. Family coaches and volunteer befrienders work directly with ComLink+ families. Together, they develop concrete action plans to achieve nearer- and longer-term goals, like obtaining employment and saving for a home.
2. b. As the families make progress, they will receive financial top-ups in the form of ComLink+ Progress Packages. For example, families can receive up to $30,000 in CPF top-ups if the adults sustain employment and do their part to save up for a home.
119. In tandem with ComLink+, we have the Fresh Start Housing Scheme. It helps second-timer families with children living in public rental flats to start afresh and own their own homes by buying a shorter-lease new flat with an additional housing grant.
120. We will enhance Fresh Start.
1. a. Today, eligible families can receive a $50,000 grant to buy a new 2-room Flexi or Standard 3-room flat on a shorter lease. We will increase the grant to $75,000.
2. b. There are also first-timer families with children living in public rental flats. They typically face more significant challenges in life, like coping with medical issues in the family, or raising children as a single parent. Hence, they may have difficulties buying a flat with a full 99-year lease, even as first-timers.
3. c. To support these families in their home ownership journey, we will allow them to buy shorter-lease subsidised flats through Fresh Start.
4. d. And the Minister for National Development will share more at COS.

Building a Singapore Made for Families

121. While we provide targeted help for the more vulnerable groups, we will also do more to support all families across every stage of life. This begins with marriage and parenthood.
1. a. We have made significant moves in recent years, including enhancing the Baby Bonus Cash Gift and the Government’s contributions to the Child Development Account (or CDA).
2. b. We have just enhanced paid parental leave to 30 weeks in total, which will enable parents to spend more time with their infants.
122. In this Budget, we will further reduce monthly full-day childcare fee caps in Government-supported preschools.
1. a. The fees will be capped at $610 for Anchor Operator centres and $650 for Partner Operator centres.
2. b. After basic childcare subsidies, a dual-income family will pay about $300 per child. Lower- and middle-income families will pay less after additional subsidies.
3. c. So this reduction will keep full-day preschool expenses similar to those of the fees for primary school and after-school student care combined.
123. Couples with more children often worry about additional costs, because the demands grow with each additional child. We will introduce a Large Families Scheme to support married couples who have, or aspire to have, three or more children. This will consist of three components.
1. a. First, a $5,000 increase in the Child Development Account First Step Grant. This will apply to each third and subsequent child born from today onwards. The CDA monies can be used to defray preschool and healthcare expenses of the child and their siblings.
2. b. Second, a new $5,000 Large Family MediSave Grant. This will be disbursed into the mother’s MediSave account again for each third and subsequent child born from today onwards. And this can be used to offset the mother’s pregnancy and delivery costs, or her family members’ healthcare expenses.
3. c. Third, $1,000 in LifeSG credits will be disbursed annually to families for each of their third and subsequent children, during the years that the child turns one to six. And this can help to defray a wide range of household expenses.
124. Let me illustrate what all this means for couples with young children.
1. a. Take the example of Elizabeth and Mervin. They have four children, turning one, four, seven, and eight this year. They will receive $500 in LifeSG credits for each child. This is to help them with cost pressures, which I had highlighted earlier in my speech. They will also receive $1,000 annually in Large Family LifeSG credits for each of their third and fourth children, up to when they turn six. That amounts to $11,000 in benefits from this Budget.
2. b. Or take another example. Joel and Kristen have two daughters turning three and five this year. They are expecting a baby boy in May. Again, they will receive the one-off $500 in LifeSG credits for each of their children.
3. c. But with a third child on the way, they will receive the full benefits of the Large Families Scheme– $5,000 in CDA, $5,000 in Medisave, and $1,000 every year until the child is six years old. So as a family, they will receive a total of $17,500.

Enabling Seniors to Age Well

125. Seniors are an important part of many families. To support our seniors to live and age well, we have been reviewing and updating our approach to retirement, healthcare, and caregiving.
126. We have provided seniors more assurance for their retirement adequacy. We introduced the Majulah Package, to support all seniors born in 1973 or earlier. And we also enhanced the Workfare Income Supplement and the Silver Support Scheme.
127. Our priority is to empower our seniors to stay active and healthy. And that is why we rolled out Healthier SG and Age Well SG.
128. Our plans include creating a more conducive living environment for our seniors. Through the Enhancement for Active Seniors (or EASE) programme, we have significantly improved the mobility and safety of seniors through subsidised senior-friendly fittings and installations in HDB households.
1. a. These have been well-received by HDB residents.
2. b. We will expand EASE for three years up to 2028 to households living in private properties, so that more seniors can benefit.
129. As we get older, we are all likely to spend more on healthcare. To provide more assurance, we will introduce a five-year Matched MediSave Scheme.
1. a. The scheme will be made available to eligible lower-income seniors aged 55 to 70 years old.
2. b. For every dollar of voluntary top-ups received in their MediSave accounts, the Government will provide a dollar-for-dollar matching grant of up to $1,000 per year.
3. c. So this will complement the existing Matched Retirement Savings Scheme.
4. d. Both matched savings schemes will help lower-income seniors, especially our grandmothers, mothers, and aunts who were homemakers and caregivers. The contributions from the Government and their loved ones will better support their retirement and healthcare needs, and give them greater assurance as they age.
130. While we will do our best to help our seniors stay healthy, the reality is that over time more of them will become frail and may require long-term care.
131. Currently, the Government provides significant subsidies for long-term care services, particularly for lower- and middle-income families. This is complemented by CareShield Life, which is our national long-term care insurance scheme, which provides a monthly cash payout upon severe disability.
132. We will increase our support for seniors with more severe care needs and who may require residential care, such as in a nursing home.
1. a. We will increase existing subsidies for residential long-term care services by up to 15 percentage points. We will also raise the maximum qualifying per capita household income to $4,800.
2. b. Many in the older cohorts, especially those born in 1969 or earlier, do not benefit from CareShield Life, and therefore will face higher out-of-pocket costs. For this group, we will introduce additional subsidies of five percentage points.
133. Many seniors prefer to age in place as much as possible, supported by their families and friends. They can opt for a range of care options. Some may use care services like day care or home care, while others rely primarily on family caregiving. We will also enhance support across the entire spectrum.
1. a. We will increase existing subsidies for long-term care services in the home and community by up to 10 percentage points, and similarly raise the maximum qualifying per capita household income to $4,800.
2. b. And we will similarly introduce additional subsidies for cohorts born in 1969 and earlier by 15 percentage points.
3. c. We will also increase the subsidies provided under the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund to cover the rising costs of home healthcare items, like adult diapers, and to also cover additional categories of such items.
134. To better support those who are looking after seniors at home, we will enhance the Home Caregiving Grant. This is a cash grant which can be used to offset daily care costs.
1. a. We will raise the quantum for the Home Caregiving Grant. The maximum grant will increase to $600 per month, from $400 today.
2. b. We will also raise the maximum qualifying per capita household income for the Home Caregiving Grant to $4,800, so that more caregivers receive support.
135. We expect at least 80,000 seniors to benefit from the enhanced long-term care subsidies and grants, which will be implemented from next year. The enhancements are expected to cost around $300 million in FY2026, and more in future years, as our population continues to age.
136. Besides higher subsidies, insurance will also play a part in easing the cost burden of long-term care. With a rapidly ageing population, we have to work hard to manage the increase in long-term care costs, and ensure a good mix of funding support between individual co-payment, government subsidies and insurance. We are studying this issue carefully, and the Minister for Health will say more at COS.

Empowering Persons with Disabilities

137. We will also do more to support persons with disabilities, and ensure they can live with dignity and pursue their aspirations.
138. We have laid good foundations with our investments in Early Intervention and Special Education, which support persons with disabilities until they are around 18. But many parents worry about what happens post-18, after their children graduate from the structured environment of a Special Education (or SPED) school.
139. We are looking into these post-18 pathways for these students, and studying how we can provide more meaningful support. In particular, those who are transiting to work may need more support to build up their work readiness and adjust to an employment setting. This includes additional learning support to gain soft skills and to adapt to new routines.
1. a. Take 21-year-old Sharlyne Lee, for example. After graduating from St. Andrew’s Autism School in 2021, she underwent three months of employment training in housekeeping and soft skills.
2. b. She was able to secure a 9-month internship with the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home as a General Housekeeping Assistant, under supportive supervisors.
3. c. At the end of the internship, she was offered full-time employment. And she is now doing well at this Home and happy to do her part to take care of the residents there.
140. We want to see more stories like her. And so we will invest more in building the support structures for persons with disabilities to transit more smoothly from school to work. We will also do more for those with higher care needs, who need a more structured environment beyond school to stay active. These are issues which we will study comprehensively with stakeholders. It will be a multi-year endeavour, and the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister for Education will share more at the COS.
141. Concurrently, we will provide more support for employers, who may be concerned about the costs and effort needed to redesign jobs and adapt their workplaces when they hire people with disabilities. In particular, we will extend the Enabling Employment Credit to end-2028, to offset wages for persons with disabilities.
142. We will also provide more financial support to persons with disabilities.
1. a. Their caregivers may benefit from the increase in the Home Caregiving Grant which I mentioned earlier.
2. b. As with the enhancements for seniors, we will increase subsidy rates for adult disability services, and raise the maximum qualifying per capita household income for these subsidies.
3. c. And we will expand the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme to include eligible Singaporeans with disabilities regardless of their age, to help them save for retirement early.
143. We will also step up efforts by SG Enable and the Special Needs Trust Company (or SNTC) to encourage families to plan ahead for their child’s future care needs.
1. a. Today, caregivers can set up financial care plans and set aside monies in trust accounts with SNTC, which will manage the trust monies for the person with disability when their caregivers pass on.
2. b. To support these efforts, we will provide a dollar-for-dollar matching grant for top-ups by lower- and middle-income caregivers to the trust accounts, up to $10,000.
144. Sir, we are taking concrete steps to strengthen our social support system. In this Budget, I’ve focused on families, seniors and their long-term care needs, and persons with disabilities. But we will continue to review and update other policy areas over time. This is the Government’s key priority. Because we want to build a Singapore where we have each other’s backs, where no one is left behind, and where we continue to stay strong and united as one people.

F. Nurturing A Caring And Inclusive Society

F. Nurturing A Caring And Inclusive Society

Improving the Resilience of Vulnerable Families

Building a Singapore Made for Families

Enabling Seniors to Age Well

Empowering Persons with Disabilities

ANNEXES