The Business Times
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THINKING ALOUD

Children are national assets. Our support must reflect that

A case for treating children as Singapore’s long-term equity

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    • If children generate positive externalities – fiscal, social and strategic – then public co-investment should mirror that reality across the life cycle.
    • If children generate positive externalities – fiscal, social and strategic – then public co-investment should mirror that reality across the life cycle. PHOTO: BT FILE

    Jeffery Tan

    Published Thu, Mar 5, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    SINGAPORE is ageing at a pace that should unsettle even our most disciplined planners.

    By 2030, one in four citizens will be over 65. Our total fertility rate has fallen from 0.97 to 0.87 in a single year. We are not merely below replacement. We are in demographic contraction.

    Policy responses have been serious: enhanced baby bonuses, longer parental leave, housing priority, flexible work arrangements. Necessary measures, all. But they remain heavily front-loaded – concentrated around birth and the early years.

    Thinking AloudSingaporeDemographicsFertilityMinistry of Social & Family Development

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