PM Wong: Govt will continue to support S'pore families at every stage of life

Speaking at the PCF Family Day 2025, held at Singapore EXPO, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke of the importance of family support, and touched on the definition of what exactly family support is.

With an ageing population to contend with, family support in Singapore is no longer just about supporting young parents with children.

"Singaporeans are getting older, we are leading longer lives as well... And so as our population gets older, as we have more seniors around us, when we talk about family support these days, we also have to pay attention to supporting our seniors, as well as their caregivers," he said.

Strengthening care services

As our seniors get older and live longer, Singapore will also need to prepare for care services.

PM Wong pointed to initiatives like Healthier SG and Age Well SG, that help seniors stay healthy for as long as possible.

He also acknowledged the need to prepare for care facilities for seniors as they get older.

This comes in the form of both long-term residential facilities or providing care within communities.

"A lot of this work has just started. There is still much, much more to do, and we will share more of our plans when we are ready."

"PCF is already expanding its capacity to serve more seniors. In time to come, we can expect PCF to also have more Active Ageing centres and Senior Care centres in communities across the island," said PM Wong.

He also noted that PCF can play a very "unique role", because PCF already has many kindergartens and childcare centres.

This means once they have the aforementioned Senior Care and Active Ageing centres, it will open new opportunities for PCF to bridge generations – to bring young and old together, and to foster greater inter-generational understanding.

PM Wong also highlighted how PCF, as a foundation, is not just an operator by itself, but that it raises funds to support the community, and a diverse range of causes and partners.

Supporting families

Noting that PCF is now the largest pre-school operator in Singapore, a long way from its roots in the 60s, PM Wong thanked the many families who had "entrusted" their children with PCF.

He also laid out the government's commitment to family support.

"The government will continue to support families in Singapore at every stage of life."

PM Wong pointed to the support, both financial and parental leave, that had been doled out to families.

He ended his speech by laying out the increasingly complex challenges Singapore faces, and how rapidly the world is changing.

And while he acknowledged the global conditions that enabled Singapore's growth and success might be shifting, he said he was confident that Singapore can weather these challenges and "emerge stronger together".

Image from PM Wong's Facebook