Children are national assets. Our support must reflect that

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.