Child Development Account (CDA) in Singapore: Open, Save, Spend

A Child Development Account (CDA) is a savings account for your child that the Government fills in two ways. It puts in a First Step Grant without you saving a cent, then adds a dollar for every dollar you deposit, up to a cap. For a first child born on or after 14 February 2023, that is a S$5,000 grant and up to S$4,000 of matching (as of September 2026).

The money can only be spent at Approved Institutions (AIs), the preschools, clinics, hospitals and other providers registered with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). It cannot be taken out as cash.

You open the CDA at POSB/DBS, OCBC or UOB once your baby is enrolled in the Baby Bonus Scheme. For a citizen baby born in Singapore, that enrolment is part of registering the birth on LifeSG.

The bank opens a second account at the same time, the Child Savings Account (CSA). That one receives the Baby Bonus Cash Gift, which is cash for early childhood costs. The two are easy to mix up, so we’ve put them side by side at the end.

What is a Child Development Account, and who gets one?

The CDA is the savings half of the Baby Bonus Scheme; the Baby Bonus Cash Gift is the other half. Singapore citizen children whose parents are lawfully married qualify, and you can open the account any time from birth until the end of the year your child turns 12.

Children of single unwed parents qualify too, if born on or after 1 September 2016. The cash gift needs married parents, but these children still get the CDA’s First Step Grant and the Government’s matching, up to their cap.

If your child was not a citizen at birth, they need to become one before turning 12 to get a CDA. When neither parent was a citizen at the birth, the benefits are pro-rated, which means a smaller amount set by the date your child becomes a citizen.

How do you open a CDA?

You enrol your child in the Baby Bonus Scheme on LifeSG, pick a bank, then finish opening the account in that bank’s app. Here is the order.

1. Enrol in the Baby Bonus Scheme on LifeSG. For a Singapore citizen baby born here, this is part of the birth registration on LifeSG. If the birth is already registered, or your child is a new citizen or adopted, use the separate Apply for Baby Bonus service.
2. Choose POSB/DBS, OCBC or UOB during that application. This is the bank that will hold both the CDA and the CSA.
3. Watch your email and the LifeSG app inbox. The instructions to open the accounts arrive there once enrolment goes through.
4. Open the CDA and the CSA in the bank’s app or internet banking. Both accounts open at the same time.
5. Expect the First Step Grant within 2 weeks of the account opening, not counting public holidays. You do not need to deposit anything first.

The parent who registers the birth, or applies for Baby Bonus, becomes the CDA trustee: the person who runs the account for the child. You can change the trustee, but only after the accounts are open.

The bank you pick matters if you are new to it. POSB/DBS asks new customers to open an ordinary bank account online first, and new customers without a local address cannot apply there.

At OCBC, a new customer who is a foreigner opens a bank account in person first. At UOB, citizens without a local address and foreigners open the CDA in person, with a Letter of Authorisation from MSF that arrives by email and in the LifeSG app inbox.

Opening the CDA is a step you take; it does not happen on its own. In a parliamentary answer published in February 2021, MSF said about 8,200 eligible children from the 2008 to 2020 birth cohorts, around 1.8%, had not opened their CDA as at 7 December 2020. The grant only lands once the account exists, so we’d do this in the first weeks, not the first years.

How much does the Government match, and up to what cap?

The Government matches what you save dollar for dollar, up to a cap set by your child’s birth order. Deposit S$10 and it adds S$10, within 2 weeks of your deposit, not counting public holidays. The First Step Grant comes on top and needs no saving at all.

*S$10,000 for a third or later child born from 18 February 2025, under the Large Families Scheme; S$5,000 before that date. The last two columns assume the S$10,000 grant.

Read the “Most the Government matches” column as your savings goal. The Government adds a dollar for each of yours until you reach it. For a first child, the full match means putting in S$4,000 of your own over the years the account is open.

Neither a deposit nor reaching the cap is compulsory, and anything you save above the cap is not matched. Interest the account earns is not matched either.

Birth order counts the Singapore citizen children born to or adopted by the mother, including stillbirths and children who have passed away. Twins count as two birth orders: the first twin is the first child, the second twin the second. Stepchildren and foster children are not counted.

These amounts belong to the Baby Bonus Scheme, which the SG Child Support Package replaces. For the CDA, you can save up to your child’s current cap until 30 September 2027.

From 1 October 2027 every cap becomes S$5,000. For a second or later child, S$5,000 is below today’s cap. Our SG Child Support Package guide covers the rest of the change.

What can the CDA pay for?

Preschool, medical and a few other child-related bills, paid only at an Approved Institution. The approved list covers:

• childcare centres licensed by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), and kindergartens;
• hospitals, GP clinics and other healthcare providers licensed by the Ministry of Health, for treatment and prescribed medicine;
• MediShield Life premiums, or premiums for a MediSave-approved private integrated plan;
• special education schools and early intervention programmes;
• assistive technology devices recommended by a health practitioner, allied health professional or social worker, bought or rented, and their repair;
• childminding fees under ECDA’s Childminding Pilot, but not the diapers, deposits or meals.

You pay in one of two ways. The bank issues a Baby Bonus NETS Card that draws on the CDA, and it works only at Approved Institutions. Or you ask the institution for its interbank GIRO form, and the fees come out of the CDA directly.

The money can also pay for your other children at an Approved Institution, even a sibling who has no CDA of their own. For a family with an older child in preschool, that makes a newborn’s CDA useful straight away.

How do you check the balance, and can you withdraw it as cash?

Log in to Family View on Parent Portal Services with Singpass. It shows your child’s CDA balance and Baby Bonus benefits, including how much of the matching cap is left. CDA services are also available through your bank’s portal or app.

On cash, the answer is no. CDA money cannot be withdrawn as cash, and the Baby Bonus NETS Card will not work at an ATM or anywhere other than an Approved Institution. MSF’s own answer on this is plain: “You cannot withdraw cash from the Child Development Account (CDA).”

What happens when the CDA closes?

Under today’s rules, the CDA closes on 31 December of the year your child turns 12. Whatever is left moves on its own to the Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA), an education account run by the Ministry of Education (MOE), up to your child’s PSEA cap. Anything above that cap is refunded to the bank account linked to your child’s PayNow.

The year of closing has two dates to diarise. In August, MSF writes to parents about the closure. By 15 December, make any last deposit you want matched without delay, and any trustee change.

Missing the cap by then is not the end of the match. If you have not saved up to it, you can keep depositing into the PSEA and still get the Government’s matching, until the cap is reached or your child turns 18, whichever comes first. The PSEA pays for approved post-secondary courses, such as diplomas and degrees, and earns interest pegged to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account, which MOE puts at 2.5% a year (as of September 2026).

The SG Child Support Package moves the closing age: for children born on or after 1 January 2015, the CDA stays open until the end of the year they turn 16.

Read this as words instead

1. Enrol in Baby Bonus on LifeSG
2. Open the CDA and CSA at your bank
3. First Step Grant arrives
4. You save, the Government matches dollar for dollar, up to your child’s cap
5. Spend at Approved Institutions, never as cash
6. The CDA closes and moves to the PSEA

Source: LifeSG and Made For Families, as of September 2026.

CDA vs Child Savings Account: what is the difference?

The CDA is for spending at Approved Institutions and is matched by the Government. The Child Savings Account (CSA) is a joint savings account for Government cash payments, starting with the Baby Bonus Cash Gift. For a child enrolled from 1 July 2024, the bank opens the CSA automatically when you open the CDA, so a family that enrols today gets both.

For a child enrolled from 1 July 2024, the Baby Bonus Cash Gift is paid only into the CSA, and the matching only ever goes into the CDA. Any other account you open for your child, at the same bank or another, receives neither.

Your next step

Log in to Family View with Singpass and note two numbers: your child’s matching cap and how much of it is left. That tells you what to save, and by when, before the caps change on 1 October 2027. Then read our guide to the SG Child Support Package for the rest of what moves when its payouts start in April 2027.

Wei Chun

Founder & Editor

A Singapore parent writing the guide he wished he'd had — practical, calm, and grounded in what actually works.

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