Last Updated on June 27, 2023 by Parentology
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Similarly like in 2021, an update was made to the Child Development Account as well as several other aspects of family life through Budget 2022, announced in February 2022. Under the Household Support Package, a repeat of the 2021 top-up will occur. That is, a one-time top-up of $200 will be made into your child’s Child Development Account, Edusave, or Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) of eligible children in Singapore.
Eligibility
In general, children aged up to 20 years old will be able to receive one payment of $200 to any one of the three accounts (CDA, Edusave, PSEA) depending on their age and eligibility as outlined below. Eligibility in this case also depends on their academic level and enrolment.
You will need to have any one of the three accounts as well in order to qualify, to make sure that the amounts can be credited.
Child Development Account
Children who fulfil the eligibility criteria for the Child Development Account, and who are aged between 0 and 6 from September 2022 onwards. This means they need to be born between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2022, including both dates.
There is one exception here – children who were born on 1 January 2016 who start primary school in 2022. They will receive the deposit to their Edusave account instead of the CDA, as outlined below. In short, if your child already has an Edusave account, the top-up will be sent there as opposed to their CDA.
If your child is a newborn, you will want to ensure that you register them for the Baby Bonus Scheme (and thus open the CDA) before 30 June 2022 to qualify for this top-up. Do note that it takes several days to open the account after registration as well. While the top-ups will be distributed from mid-September 2022 onwards, those who open their accounts after that will simply receive their top-ups after their accounts have been opened.
Edusave
Children who are born between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2015 (i.e., children who are 7 – 16 years of age and are precluded from the CDA top-up) and who are studying in a government-funded (public) school will have the top-up deposited into their Edusave account instead. As mentioned above, this also happens to include children born on 1 January 2016 if they start primary school in 2022.
Children who are not studying in public schools but who still fall within the age range will also receive the $200 in their Edusave.
Children who are studying in special education schools (SPED) will have the top-ups credited into their Edusave no matter their age range.
Similarly, any teenagers who turn 16 who have started studying in government-funded post-secondary institutions in 2022 (Junior College, Centralised Institutes) will receive their top-up in the PSEA rather than the Edusave account.
Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA)
Children between 17 and 20 (or who turn 16 and have started post-secondary education) will receive their top-ups in their Post-Secondary Education Account. This refers to children born between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2005.
To qualify for the PSEA top-up, the child must not already be eligible for the Edusave top-up; that is, they are precluded from both CDA and Edusave top-ups due to age range or academic enrolment reasons.
Receiving the money
As noted above, the $200 to each account will be deposited directly into the relevant accounts.
If your account has already been opened by mid-September 2022, you can expect the amount to be credited into it sometime after that period.
If your account has yet to be opened, and you open the account sometime between mid-September 2022 and June 2023, you will receive the $200 after the relevant account has been opened.
The trustee of the account (usually the parent or caregiver) will receive notifications from the government about the entire process and its details. This will be sent out on and after September 2022.
Does the top-up qualify as a deposit for government co-matching?
Unfortunately, as with most amounts provided by the government, the top-up does not qualify for the dollar-for-dollar government co-matching. The co-matching is in place to encourage parents to make additional deposits into the account for their children, and so only applies to non-governmental deposits into the account, whether with the CDA or the PSEA.
Usage
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to use this top-up (and other cash amounts) to help reduce any financial burdens resulting from educational or healthcare expenses. Many will notice that the three accounts noted (CDA, Edusave, PSEA) have restrictions on where the account funds can be used and what they can be used on.
The Child Development Account, for instance, is limited to expenses with government-accepted Approved Institutions (AIs). The Edusave and PSEA can only be spent on educational needs as well. This limitation is in order to ensure that specific amounts are dedicated towards Singaporean children and ensure that their needs are met, as well as to prevent misuse of any funds that are provided.
Any deposits and expenses will always be reflected on the bank statements provided by the bank that is managing your account. You should be able to see this with your online banking features; additionally, for the CDA you will also be able to see government contributions and co-matching transactions on Baby Bonus Online under the ‘View Statement’ option.
As part of the Household Support Package, families will also be receiving additional GST and CDC vouchers which will apply to other expenditures in the household – do look out for these if your family is interested in additional financial help outside of child-related accounts.
Who do I talk to if I have any more questions?
You may reach out to MSF for Baby Bonus or CDA-related questions at msf_babybonus@msf.gov.sg. You can also call their hotline locally at 1800-111-2222, or use their online virtual assistant Jamie on the MSF website. If the query is in regard to opening a Child Development Account, you may want to consider referring to the video series MSF has produced to tackle this specific question. They can be found under the #BiteSizedBabyBonus tag on Facebook.
For the Edusave and PSEA which are under the purview of the Ministry of Education, you will need to fill out an online form here or call them at 6260 0777.
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