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Nearly 2 in 5 feel Budget 2026 support for families is inadequate: AsiaOne survey
A survey conducted by AsiaOne found that 38 per cent of people in Singapore are likely to feel the recent Budget 2026 measures for families are inadequate.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Dennis Palit
PUBLISHED ONMarch 20, 2026 11:25 AM
BYBhavya Rawat
Singapore's total fertility rate (TFR) dropped to a historic low of 0.87 in 2025, announced Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Feb 26, referring to this as an "existential challenge".
The government announced on the same day that it would form a new workgroup with the relevant agencies to tackle the issue.
Concerns regarding raising children were also addressed by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during his Budget 2026 statement on Feb 12, where he highlighted measures taken during successive Budgets to support and assure families.
However, it appears that some people in Singapore are unsatisfied with what is being offered in encouragement for them to have children.
In fact, a survey conducted by AsiaOne found that nearly two in five people in Singapore are likely to feel the recent Budget 2026 measures for families are inadequate.
From Feb 13 to 26, a total of 1,035 respondents were polled on their sentiments towards PM Wong's 2026 Budget speech.
Of these respondents, 79 per cent said they followed Budget 2026-related announcements to varying degrees.
Out of those who kept up with PM Wong's Budget statement, 38 per cent said that the measures aimed at providing families with more support and greater assurance were inadequate.
In comparison, a significantly lower proportion of respondents who followed Budget-related announcements felt that measures to strengthen defence and cybersecurity, harness artificial intelligence (AI), improve Singapore spirit, build a resilient workforce, and advance our economic strategy were inadequate.
Under Budget 2026, measures to support families include an additional $500 in Child LifeSG Credits for every child aged 12 and below.
Moreover, existing means-tested preschool subsidies under the Infant and Childcare Subsidy Scheme as well as the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme were made available to over 60,000 more families after the monthly household income threshold was raised from $12,000 to $15,000 this year.
The Student Care Fee Assistance scheme will also be available to families with a household income of $6,500 or less.
Respondents aged 35 to 44 were the most likely to think these measures were inadequate, with 58 per cent of them feeling this way, AsiaOne's survey found.
This might be because those in this age range are parents themselves and feel the impact of these measures directly.
Notably, the next age group which was most likely to feel that such measures are inadequate was those aged 25 to 34, with half of them thinking this way.
Those in this age group might be young parents or considering starting a family, which would result in them keeping an eye on the measures rolled out by the government to support families.
Although a notable proportion of respondents said support for families was inadequate, 47 per cent of them said it was the government's top priority during this year's Budget.
In their eyes, the top five priorities for Budget 2026 were: support for families, harnessing AI (37 per cent), building a resilient workforce (35 per cent), advancing economic strategy (22 per cent) and strengthening defence and cybersecurity (19 per cent).
Moreover, 22 per cent of those who followed Budget-related announcements feel that parents with infants or young children received the greatest level of support this year.
This was the second most-chosen response in the survey, with low-income and vulnerable groups (31 per cent) being the most picked option.
These findings mirror those of a similar survey conducted by AsiaOne last year.
Respondents of that survey were also most likely to choose low-income and vulnerable groups (36 per cent) as those who received the most support during Budget 2025.
Parents with infants or young children were also considered the second most supported group by respondents in 2025.
Some aspects did deviate from last year's findings, however.
Among the respondents for this year's survey who followed Budget 2026-related announcements, 30 per cent felt that cost of living is a key major challenge for Singapore's future.
26 per cent of them selected ensuring healthcare remains affordable and 19 per cent of them chose ensuring Singaporeans' job security.
While the top two key challenges did not change, ensuring Singaporeans' job security was number six in the rankings for the 2025 survey.
Respondents in 2025 felt that managing Singapore's ageing population, maintaining its economic competitiveness as well as keeping public housing affordable and accessible were more likely to be key future challenges for the nation.
In this year's survey findings, 33 per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the Budget 2026 initiatives will "secure our future together in a changed world".
29 per cent of them were neutral, while 26 per cent of them disagreed or strongly disagreed.
According to Edmund Chua, who heads AsiaOne's consumer insights and analytics group, the findings from this survey indicate that while the public recognises the government's financial support for families, TFR rates continue to decline.
"A large part of the solution to Singapore's TFR's woes will likely lie outside the immediate scope of the Budget and would entail a transformation of Singapore's workplace culture and Singaporean's perception towards the intangible value of parenthood," said Chua.
"Many suggestions were proposed by various community organisations in these areas. We can expect the government to carefully consider these suggestions as it leads the nation on its 'society-wide reset'."
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