Over 60,000 Singapore families to benefit from higher income ceiling for pre-school, childcare subsidies

The ceiling for the Infant and Childcare Additional Subsidy and Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme will be increased to S$15,000 (US$11,700) from S$12,000 starting January 2027, Goh Pei Ming, Singapore’s Minister of State for Social and Family Development, said last Friday.

Income thresholds across all subsidy tiers will also be adjusted to better reflect changes in household earnings, he said.

For instance, a median-income household earning S$12,500 a month with two children enrolled in anchor-operator childcare will see their out-of-pocket costs drop by about 35%, from S$730 this year to S$470 in 2027.

“This will further improve affordability of pre-schools for more than 60,000 lower- and middle-income families with young children,” Goh said, as quoted by AsiaOne.

The changes were first announced last month as part of the city-state’s national budget for the 2026 financial year, which also included revisions to the Student Care Fee Assistance scheme.

Under the update, the monthly household income ceiling to qualify for the subsidies will rise to S$6,500 from S$4,500, while subsidy caps across all tiers will also be increased.

This is expected to benefit about 13,000 students and their families enrolled in student care centers registered with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, according to The Straits Times.

Additionally, families will receive an extra S$500 in Child LifeSG credits for each Singaporean child aged 12 and below as part of the budget, Channel News Asia reported.

The credits can be used at both physical stores and online merchants that accept payments through PayNow UEN QR or NETS QR.

Those with children born between 2014 and 2025 will receive the credits in July this year, while payouts for children born in 2026 are scheduled for April 2027.