Raising a child in Singapore can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to finances. Parents will want the best for their child, and to provide the best head start for them by giving them a good level of education as a foundation. On top of that, the cost of tertiary education, whether it is NUS, NTU, SMU or any other university, is on the upward trend.

1^st

Opening Child Development Account (CDA)

• As part of the baby bonus scheme introduced by our government to support parents, CDA is a special savings account for Singaporean children to help build up the savings that can be spent on approved uses at Baby Bonus Approved Institutions (Child care centers, Kindergartens etc).
• You can open a CDA with DBS Bank, OCBC or UOB. Babies born from 24 Mar 2016 will receive up to $3,000 of CDA First Step grant. Additionally, the government will also match each dollar you contribute into CDA account.

2^nd

Start planning early

• We can pay for university fees by taking a tuition loan and pay interest in the later years, or saving earlier and earn interest for the future. By setting a small amount aside early, it will go a long way into supporting your children in the future when they join the work force  

3^rd

Endowment/ Education plans that provide capital guaranteed returns

• To make it easier for parents to achieve a targeted amount, look out for financial products that are able to provide a higher interest rate than if you were to save in a bank account. Investments are not recommended as they do not provide a guaranteed maturity, and the last thing we want is to inform the child that they have to take a tuition loan due to a market crash.
• Here are endowments plans offered by various insurance companies to provide capital guaranteed upon maturity to consider from

  1. Aviva Mychoice Saver

  2. Etiqa Enrich Flex

  3. Manulife Readybuilder

  4. Ntuc Gro Saver Flex

• If you are looking to kickstart your child’s education planning, speak to our friendly advisors for more information.