MediSave Grant for Newborns: what the $5,000 covers
In this article
The MediSave Grant for Newborns is money the Government puts into your baby's own CPF MediSave account. CPF says the account is created once you register the birth, and $5,000 is credited automatically, so there is nothing to apply for. It can pay your child's MediShield Life premiums, recommended childhood vaccinations, hospital stays and approved outpatient treatment. CPF says all Singapore citizen newborns are eligible.
| Amount | $5,000, from 1 April 2025 |
|---|---|
| Before that | $4,000 |
| Paid into | Your baby's own MediSave account |
| How to get it | Automatic after birth registration |
| Who | Singapore citizen newborns |
| Pays for | MediShield Life premiums, vaccines, hospital and approved outpatient bills |
How much the grant is, by birth date
MOH raised the grant in 2025. Its announcement says that from 1 April 2025 the grant went up from $4,000 to $5,000, and that with the increase a citizen newborn's MediShield Life premiums stay fully covered up to age 21. So a baby born in March 2025 got $4,000, and one born in May 2025 got $5,000.
MOH's current scheme page words it as babies born after 1 April 2025. The two MOH pages read differently for a baby born on 1 April 2025 itself, so if that is your child's birthday, confirm the amount with CPF.
What the money can pay for
MOH lists four uses: MediShield Life premiums, recommended childhood vaccinations, hospitalisation and approved outpatient treatments. For which vaccines your child is due and when, see the national childhood immunisation schedule.
The yearly premium is the cost you can predict. MOH's premium table puts MediShield Life at $200 a year before subsidies for anyone aged 1 to 20 next birthday, for policies starting or renewing from 1 April 2025. At that price, MOH says the $5,000 keeps your child's premiums fully paid until 21.
How the grant reaches your baby
You do not fill in a form. MOH says every Singapore citizen baby has a MediSave account created in their name when the birth is registered, and the grant is deposited into it. It is a separate payment from the Baby Bonus Scheme, which LifeSG describes as the Cash Gift and the Child Development Account.
Because MOH says the account is created in your child's name, the grant sits in your child's MediSave, apart from your own.
The grant after the 2027 changes
The grant stays. Made For Families counts the $5,000 MediSave Grant for Newborns as an existing benefit that sits alongside the new SG Child Support Package, which puts the support for each citizen child at around $70,000 from birth to age 17.
Large families have had a second, separate grant. LifeSG says a third or later child born from 18 February 2025 qualifies for a $5,000 Large Family MediSave Grant, paid into the mother's MediSave. Made For Families says the Government is studying how to reposition and extend that support. To see where the grant fits in your first-year budget, try our baby cost estimator.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to apply for the MediSave Grant for Newborns?
No. CPF says the MediSave account is created when you register the birth and the $5,000 is credited automatically.
Is the MediSave newborn grant part of the Baby Bonus?
No. MOH lists it among its own Marriage and Parenthood schemes, and it goes into a CPF MediSave account, while Baby Bonus money goes into the CDA and the Child Savings Account.
Will the grant pay my baby's MediShield Life premiums?
Yes. MOH says the $5,000 keeps a citizen newborn's MediShield Life premiums fully covered up to age 21.
My baby was born in March 2025. How much is the grant?
$4,000. MOH says the increase to $5,000 applies from 1 April 2025.
Related terms
- MediShield Life: Singapore's mandatory basic health insurance for citizens and PRs, covering your baby from birth for large hospital bills.
- Baby Bonus Scheme: Singapore's parenthood payout: a Cash Gift plus a Child Development Account, replaced by the SG Child Support Package from April 2027.
- SG Child Support Package: The scheme replacing Baby Bonus from April 2027: up to $62,000 per citizen child, the same for every birth order.
- NCIS (National Childhood Immunisation Schedule): Singapore's official list of recommended childhood vaccines and the age each dose is due, from birth to 17 years.
- Polyclinic: A public primary care clinic with subsidised fees, where Singapore families can take children for jabs and checks.
- MOH - Marriage and Parenthood Schemes (read 9 November 2026)
- MOH - Government accepts MediShield Life Council's recommendations (read 9 November 2026)
- CPF Board - Baby Bonus benefits and support for parents (read 9 November 2026)
- MOH - MediShield Life Premium and Subsidy Tables (read 9 November 2026)
- Made For Families (MSF) - National Day Rally 2026: supporting families (read 9 November 2026)
