Government to relook ways to boost birth rate

Later marriages, fewer babies despite more generous policies

By Phua Mei Pin, The Straits Times, 29 Jun 2012

THE Government is taking a close, hard look at its policies on marriage and parenthood in a move to produce a more effective package to coax people to get hitched and have more babies.

The review, the third in about 10 years, is reinforced by official figures released yesterday.

These show that increasingly generous policies between 2001 and 2009 have failed to raise Singapore's total fertility rate.

In fact, the rate has been on a steady decline, falling to 1.2 children for each woman of childbearing age last year, which is far below the replacement rate of 2.1.

The figures, in a paper by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), also show that between 2000 and last year, more people are staying single or marrying later. And those who marry are becoming parents later and having fewer children.

These worrying trends were underlined yesterday when Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced the review and urged people to send their ideas on how to improve the situation to the Government's feedback unit Reach.

These may form part of the Government's White Paper on population that is likely to come out at the end of the year.

Mr Teo, speaking at a local conference on Asia's future, said: 'Creating a supportive environment for Singaporeans to form families and raise children has been, and remains, a key government priority in addressing the population challenge.'

He noted that demographics is a key issue that will shape Asia, where many countries, including Singapore, are grappling with the problems of an ageing population.

By 2030, the pool of seniors aged 65 and older in Singapore will triple to 900,000, and 0.7 citizens will enter the workforce for every one citizen leaving. This means fewer working adults will support more elderly folk.

The slide in total fertility rate is across all ethnic groups, according to the paper.

It is lowest for the Chinese, falling from 1.43 in 2000 to 1.08 last year. Corresponding figures for Indians are 1.6 and 1.09, and Malays, 2.54 and 1.64.

The fall defies repeated boosts to the marriage and parenthood annual budget: It rose from $500 million in 2001 to $800 million in 2004 and $1.6 billion in 2008.

In addition, paid maternity leave for mothers was raised to four months, and increases made to various tax incentives and subsidies for having children.

In fact, calculations by the division show that a middle-income Singaporean family with two children can get the equivalent of about $142,000 until both the children turn seven.

Yet, many Singaporeans are not enticed, leading experts like sociologist Paulin Tay Straughan to remark: 'It is no longer sufficient to incentivise married couples to have children. The key lies in pushing singles towards marriage.'

But the division reports that more people in the 25 to 29 age group are now staying single.

Last year, almost 80 per cent of men were single, a sharp rise from 66 per cent in 2000. For women, the corresponding figures were 64 per cent and 46 per cent.

This is of great concern, said Professor Straughan. 'Even if they get married later, they are likely to be pushing 30. The number of children they then have will be much, much lower than the replacement rate.'

This phenomenon is reflected in the paper, which shows that the median age when a woman first marries rose from 26.1 in 2000 to 27.8 last year.

A woman who married at 35 would tend to have almost two fewer children by the age of 40 than her peer who married at 20.

Research fellow Mathew Mathews of the Institute of Policy Studies believes that providing decent, affordable housing is crucial to getting the young to wed earlier.

The paper is the division's second, after an April report that shows Singapore's citizen population will start shrinking by 2025 without the fertility rate improving and without new immigrants.

But in seeking to raise fertility rates, the division stressed that cultural norms in Singapore will not be ignored. In developed societies with high fertility rates, it noted that 30 per cent to over 50 per cent of children were born out of wedlock, compared to 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent in East Asian societies.

Employer, childcare support 'vital'
By Phua Mei Pin, The Straits Times, 29 Jun 2012

EMPLOYER support and better childcare facilities play a key role in persuading Singaporeans to start their families earlier and have more children, young adults interviewed said yesterday.

Singles, on the other hand, point to affordable housing as pivotal in getting them to marry earlier.

These wishes topped the list of 10 Singaporeans who were asked to respond to a paper on marriage and parenthood trends released by the National Population and Talent Division yesterday.

The paper says more people - especially in the 25-29 age group - are staying single or getting married later, and married couples are starting families later and having fewer children.

Web designer Terence Quek, 29, who is getting married next month, said he would have tied the knot earlier if he had had help to buy a Housing Board flat sooner. 'Housing prices have increased quite a lot, but the subsidies have not changed for years,' he said.

Sales executive Tracy Koh, 34, a mother of two, wants greater support and understanding from employers.

'Although parenthood is encouraged by the Government, in the private sector, mums are feeling pressure to not even take paid maternity leave,' said Ms Koh, who had her second child this month.

Both teacher Patricia Yeo, 35, and senior executive Juliana Tan, 32, waited five years after marriage to have their first child as they wanted to feel more financially stable.

Said Ms Yeo, who had her children at age 31 and 32: 'I married at 26. We were just starting our careers. We didn't think of having a kid at all.'

Ms Tan, pregnant with her second child, wants better regulation of childcare centres and preschools, to guard against fee hikes each time the Government raises subsidies.

Conveniently located kindergartens and childcare facilities would be a boon for working couples, she added.