Earlier this year, NTUC First Campus (NFC) announced the launch of two programmes for low-income families and their children:

• A one-time Child Development Account (CDA) top-up for each eligible low-income child;
• An “NTUC First Campus Sponsored NTUC Membership Programme” to provide fully sponsored NTUC membership for low-income families.

An estimated 4,000 low-income families and their children will benefit from this support in 2021. The total spend is estimated at S$2 million for 2021 and will be funded by NFC’s’ Bright Horizons Fund. This is part of NFC’s efforts to give low-income families and their children additional support and a good start to the New Year.

Low-income families who meet the following criteria will be eligible for both programmes:

• Monthly household incomes of S$4,500 or less or monthly per capita incomes of S$1,125 or less; and
• Their child/children has/have been enrolled in NFC’s My First Skool (MFS) or Little Skool-House (LSH) for at least three months.*

To give these families financial support for their child-raising needs, NFC will provide a one-time payout of S$400 into the eligible child’s CDA. This move will also help to stretch their dollar as the payout will be matched, dollar-for-dollar by the Singapore Government if the family meets the criteria for the Baby Bonus Scheme. These families will be able to use the total amount of up to S$800 per child to defray various child-raising expenses such as a child’s preschool fees, healthcare, dental and optical needs as well as early intervention programmes at Baby Bonus Approved Institution s

In addition, NFC will introduce an “NTUC First Campus Sponsored NTUC Membership Programme” to encourage low-income families to become members. The fully sponsored NTUC membership is valued at S$117 per annum. For eligible families who already have NTUC memberships, NFC will support them by paying the membership fees for one member per family. This privilege will continue till their child or youngest child leaves NFC’s pre-school network.

By becoming NTUC members, low-income families will enjoy various financial and employability benefits offered by NTUC. For instance,

• The various assistance programmes under the NTUC-U Care Fund aim to improve the welfare of lower-income NTUC members and their families. This could be in the form of digital vouchers for use on basic necessities and for children’s school expenses for the new school year; as well as funding support for bursaries and scholarships.
• Members with children enrolled in NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool can get 1,285 LinkPoints worth $8.50 monthly per household. The LinkPoints can be used to redeem various benefits such as offsetting the cost of groceries at NTUC FairPrice.
• Members can tap on the various professional development, training, placement and networking opportunities, and upgrade their skills through the “Union Training Assistance Programme” which will defray their cost of training.