Children Development Co-Savings Act 2001

by Parliament of Singapore

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REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
ACTS SUPPLEMENT
Published by Authority

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First published in the Government Gazette, Electronic Edition, on 29th March 2001 at 5:00 pm.

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 16th March 2001 and assented to by the President on 26th March 2001:—

THE CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT CO-SAVINGS ACT 2001

(No. 13 of 2001)

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY
Section
1.	Short title and commencement
2.	Interpretation
PART II CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT CO-SAVINGS SCHEME
3.	Establishment of Scheme to assist families
4.	Compulsory substitution of trustee
5.	Protection of benefits
6.	Moneys payable on death of member
7.	Approved persons
8.	Recovery of payment by Government
PART III THIRD CHILD MATERNITY LEAVE, PROTECTION AND BENEFITS
9.	Length of benefit period, etc.
10.	Reimbursement from Government
11.	Recovery of payment by Government and employer
12.	Application of certain provisions of Employment Act
13.	Exclusion of certain classes of persons
PART IV MISCELLANEOUS
14.	Disputes
15.	Notification of change of residence
16.	False or misleading statement
17.	Failure of employer to pay female employee
18.	Holding out as approved person
19.	Composition of offences
20.	Regulations
21.	Exemption
22.	Consequential amendment to Education Endowment Scheme Act

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

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No. 13 of 2001.

I assent.

 

S R NATHAN,
President.
26th March 2001.

 

An Act to encourage married women in Singapore to have more children and to make a consequential amendment to the Education Endowment Scheme Act (Chapter 87A of the 1993 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

PART I
PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Children Development Co-Savings Act 2001 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"approved person" means a person approved by the Minister as an approved person under the regulations made under section 7;

"bank account" means a bank account opened under the regulations made under section 3;

"confinement" means the delivery of a child;

"Edusave account" has the same meaning as in the Education Endowment Scheme Act (Cap. 87A);

"eligible child" means a child who is eligible for membership of the Scheme under the regulations made under section 3;

"employee" means any person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer in Singapore, and includes a workman and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the Minister to be employees for the purposes of this Act;

"employer" means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes—

(a) the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or employees of the Government as are declared from time to time by the Minister to be employees for the purposes of this Act;

(b) any statutory authority;

(c) the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; and

(d) the person who owns or who is carrying on or is for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;

"gross rate of pay" means the total amount of money including allowances to which an employee is entitled under her contract of service either for working for a period of time, that is, for one hour, one day, one week, one month or for such other period as may be stated or implied in her contract of service, or for each completed piece or task of work but does not include—

(a) additional payments by way of overtime payments;

(b) additional payments by way of bonus payments or annual wage supplements;

(c) any sum paid to the employee to reimburse her for special expenses incurred by her in the course of her employment;

(d) productivity incentive payments; and

(e) travelling, food or housing allowances;

"member" means a member of the Scheme;

"parent", in relation to a child, includes a legal guardian of the child;

"personal representative" means the executor, original or by representation, or administrator for the time being of a deceased person;

"Scheme" means the Scheme established by the regulations made under section 3;

"self-employed woman" means any woman resident in Singapore who engages in or carries on any trade, business, profession or vocation other than employment under a contract of service and derives income from such trade, business, profession or vocation or such other woman declared by the Minister to be a self-employed woman for the purposes of this Act.

PART II
CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT CO-SAVINGS SCHEME

Establishment of Scheme to assist families

3.—(1) The Minister may by regulations establish a Scheme to—

(a) assist families so as to encourage married women to have 2 or more children; and

(b) provide financial assistance for the development of the children of these families through a co-savings scheme whereby the Government will make contributions to an eligible child’s bank account equal to the contributions made by any parent of the eligible child.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), such regulations may provide for—

(a) the eligibility criteria of children for membership of the Scheme and the terms and conditions of such membership;

(b) the appointment of one or more managing agents responsible for the operation and administration of the Scheme and the powers, functions and duties of such managing agents, including the duty of such managing agents to comply with any requirement relating to confidentiality of information;

(c) the payment of moneys to members and the prescribed amount, mode and manner and terms and conditions of such payment;

(d) the payment of contributions to the Scheme by the parent of a member or by any person on behalf of the parent;

(e) the opening of and the type of bank account for each member into which such moneys will be paid;

(f) the suspension or termination of such bank account and the circumstances in which the account may be suspended or terminated;

(g) the terms and conditions governing the relationship between the bank at which a bank account under the Scheme is opened and maintained and the member and the trustee of such bank account;

(h) the purposes for which the moneys paid under the Scheme can be utilised and the terms and conditions subject to which withdrawals of such moneys can be made;

(i) the transfer of any moneys standing to the credit of a member’s bank account to his Edusave account at such time as may be prescribed or where the member does not have an Edusave account, the withdrawal of such moneys in such manner as may be prescribed;

(j) the consequences for any breach of the regulations, including making any act or omission in contravention of such regulations an offence and prescribing penalties for such offence not exceeding a fine of $20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both; and

(k) different provisions in respect of eligible children whose parents have not attained the age of majority.

Compulsory substitution of trustee

4.—(1) Unless otherwise provided in an order of court or directed by the Minister, the trustee of the moneys standing to the credit of a member’s bank account shall—

(a) where the custody, care and control of the member is granted under an order of court or by agreement between the parents of the member to the parent of the member who is not the trustee, be substituted with the parent to whom custody, care and control has been granted;

(b) where the care and control of the member is granted under an order of court or by agreement between the parents of the member to the parent of the member who is not the trustee, be substituted with the parent to whom care and control has been granted, notwithstanding that custody of the member remains with the parent who is the trustee;

(c) where the custody, care and control, or care and control, of the member is granted under an order of court or by agreement between the parents of the member to a person other than the parents of the member, be substituted with the person granted custody, care and control, or care and control, of the member;

(d) where the member is legally adopted by any person, be substituted with the adopter of the member;

(e) where the trustee is dead and the member has no other legal guardian, be substituted with the personal representative of the trustee;

(f) where the trustee is no longer able to act as trustee by reason that he is a mentally disordered person within the meaning of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap. 178) and the member has no other legal guardian, be substituted with the person who has been appointed the committee of the person and estate of the trustee; and

(g) where the trustee is unable or unwilling to act as trustee for any other reason and the member has no other legal guardian, be substituted with the person nominated by the trustee and approved by the Minister to act in the place of the existing trustee.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may, if he considers it necessary, direct that a trustee be removed and substituted with such other person as the Minister may nominate.

(3) This section shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Trustees Act (Cap. 337).

Protection of benefits

5. For the avoidance of doubt, the ownership of any moneys paid into a member’s bank account by the Government or the parent of the member under the Scheme shall, with effect from the date of such payment, belong to the member absolutely and—

(a) the payment by the parent shall not constitute "matrimonial asset" within the meaning of section 112 of the Women’s Charter (Cap. 353);

(b) the payment by the parent shall not constitute a transaction at undervalue or an unfair preference under section 98 or 99 of the Bankruptcy Act (Cap. 20) or form part of the estate of a parent who has been adjudicated bankrupt; and

(c) the moneys in the bank account of the member shall not be assignable or liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim.

Moneys payable on death of member

6.—(1) On the death of a member, the moneys standing to his credit in his bank account shall be paid to the Public Trustee for disposal in accordance with any written law for the time being in force.

(2) The receipt of the Public Trustee shall be a good discharge to the Minister and the managing agent for such portions of the moneys payable out of the bank account on the death of a member as are payable to the Public Trustee under subsection (1).

(3) All moneys paid out of the bank account on the death of any member shall be deemed to be impressed with a trust in favour of the person or persons determined by the Public Trustee in accordance with subsection (1) to be entitled thereto but shall, without prejudice to the Estate Duty Act (Cap. 96), be deemed not to form part of the deceased member’s estate or to be subject to his debts.

Approved persons

7.—(1) The Minister may make regulations to approve a person as an approved person for the purposes of the Scheme and for purposes connected therewith.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), such regulations may—

(a) prescribe the manner in which applications for approval as an approved person may be made;

(b) require any refund of payment made for any service which has not been provided by an approved person to be credited into the bank account of the member;

(c) require the approved person to execute a security bond as a pre-condition for such approval;

(d) specify such other terms and conditions subject to which the approval of the Minister is granted; and

(e) empower the Minister to revoke the approval granted to an approved person and prescribe the circumstances in which such power is to be exercised.

Recovery of payment by Government

8.—(1) Where any payment has been made into a member’s bank account by the Government under the Scheme and such payment is—

(a) made in reliance of any false or misleading statement or document made or furnished by the parent of the member;

(b) made by reason of a mistake of fact; or

(c) utilised for purposes not authorised by the Scheme,

the Government may recover such payment from any moneys standing to the credit of the member’s bank account.

(2) Where the Government is entitled to recover any payment from a member’s bank account under subsection (1), the bank at which the account is opened and maintained shall not authorise any further withdrawal from the account until the payment due to the Government has been deducted from the moneys standing to the credit of the account and paid to the Government.

PART III
THIRD CHILD MATERNITY LEAVE, PROTECTION AND BENEFITS

Length of benefit period, etc.

9.—(1) Notwithstanding section 76 (4) of the Employment Act (Cap. 91) and subject to this section and any regulations made under this Act, every female employee shall be entitled to absent herself from work—

(a) during the period of 4 weeks immediately before and the period of 4 weeks immediately after her confinement; or

(b) during the period of 8 weeks, as agreed to by her and her employer, commencing not earlier than 28 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement or later than that day,

and for such period (referred to in this Part as the benefit period) she shall be entitled to receive payment from her employer at her gross rate of pay in accordance with the regulations made under section 20.

(2) A self-employed woman who—

(a) ceases to be actively engaged in her trade, business, profession or vocation—

(i) during the period of 4 weeks immediately before and the period of 4 weeks immediately after her confinement; or

(ii) during the period of 8 weeks, commencing not earlier than 28 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement or later than that day; and

(b) has lost any income by reason of her ceasing to be actively engaged in such trade, business, profession or vocation,

shall be entitled to claim from the Government, in accordance with the regulations made under section 20, the income she would have otherwise derived from her trade, business, profession or vocation had she continued to be actively engaged in such trade, business, profession or vocation during that period.

(3) No woman shall be entitled to absent herself from work under subsection (1) or to payment under subsection (1) or (2) unless—

(a) the child who is the subject of her confinement—

(i) is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth;

(ii) is born alive on or after 1st April 2001; and

(iii) is the third child born alive to her;

(b) she—

(i) is lawfully married to the child’s natural father at the time the child is conceived; or

(ii) becomes lawfully married to the child’s natural father after the child is conceived but before the child’s birth, whether or not such marriage remains subsisting at the time of the child’s birth;

(c) in the case of a female employee, she has served the employer for not less than 180 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement; and

(d) in the case of a self-employed woman, she has been carrying on her trade, business, profession or vocation for a continuous period of not less than 180 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) (a) (ii), a female employee or self-employed woman who has given birth to a child before 1st April 2001 but has satisfied all the other requirements specified in subsection (3) shall —

(a) in the case of a female employee, be entitled to payment by her employer of her gross rate of pay in accordance with subsection (5) if she has been granted maternity leave for the benefit period and such leave has not been completely consumed by 1st April 2001; and

(b) in the case of a self-employed woman who has ceased to be actively engaged in her trade, business, profession or vocation during the period referred to in subsection (2), be entitled to claim from the Government in accordance with subsection (6), such income as she would otherwise have derived from her trade, business, profession or vocation had she continued to be actively engaged in such trade, business, profession or vocation during that period.

(5) A female employee referred to in subsection (4) (a) shall only be entitled to her gross rate of pay in respect of that period of her maternity leave which remains unconsumed on 1st April 2001.

(6) A self-employed woman referred to in subsection (4) (b) shall only be entitled to claim the income she would have derived from her trade, business, profession or vocation for that part of the period referred to in subsection (2) which remains unexhausted on 1st April 2001.

(7) Notwithstanding anything in this section, no woman shall be entitled to any payment under this section —

(a) if she is also entitled to payment under section 76 of the Employment Act (Cap. 91) in respect of the confinement to which this section applies; and

(b) in excess of the amount of $20,000 (which amount shall be inclusive of any contribution to the Central Provident Fund which an employer, a female employee or self-employed woman is liable to make under the Central Provident Fund Act (Cap. 36)) regardless of—

(i) the gross rate of pay to which she would normally have been entitled under the terms of her contract of service; or

(ii) the income she would have otherwise derived from her trade, business, profession or vocation.

(8) Nothing in this section shall be construed as derograting from any other benefits that the female employee is entitled to during the benefit period under the terms of her contract of service or under any other written law.

Reimbursement from Government

10.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), every employer who makes payment to a female employee at her gross rate of pay in accordance with section 9 shall be entitled to claim reimbursement from the Government in accordance with the regulations made under section 20 of—

(a) the amount of such payment; and

(b) any contribution which the employer is liable to make in respect of such payment under the Central Provident Fund Act (Cap. 36) which is not recoverable from the employee’s wages.

(2) No employer shall be entitled to claim reimbursement from the Government of an amount exceeding $20,000 in respect of each female employee who is entitled to payment at her gross rate of pay under section 9.

Recovery of payment by Government and employer

11.—(1) Where any payment has been made by an employer to a female employee or by the Government to a self-employed woman under section 9 by reason of a mistake of fact or in reliance of any false or misleading statement or document made or furnished by that female employee or self-employed woman—

(a) the employer may, if he has not been reimbursed by the Government for the payment to the female employee under section 9, recover the payment directly from the female employee; and

(b) the Government may, where it has reimbursed an employer for the payment to the female employee under section 9, recover such payment from the female employee or where the payment is made to a self-employed woman, from that woman, as a civil debt.

(2) The Government shall, if it is satisfied that an employer referred to in subsection (1) (a) has, despite all reasonable efforts to recover a payment from the female employee, been unable to recover such payment successfully, reimburse the employer under section 10 for the payment made to the female employee by the employer.

Application of certain provisions of Employment Act

12. Sections 77 to 86 of the Employment Act (Cap. 91) shall apply to a payment under section 9 and to any female employee to which this Part applies and for the purposes of such application, any reference in those sections of the Employment Act to—

(a) a female employee shall be read as a reference to a female employee to which this Act applies;

(b) an employer shall be read as a reference to an employer to which this Act applies;

(c) "this Part" shall be read as a reference to Part III of this Act;

(d) "this Act" shall be read as a reference to this Act; and

(e) section 76 shall be read as a reference to section 9 of this Act.

Exclusion of certain classes of persons

13. This Part or any provision of this Part shall not apply to—

(a) such class or classes of female employees;

(b) such class or classes of self-employed women; and

(c) such class or classes of employers,

as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify.

PART IV
MISCELLANEOUS

Disputes

14.—(1) Any question or dispute arising from or in connection with—

(a) the eligibility of a child for membership of the Scheme;

(b) the payment of any moneys to an approved person;

(c) the entitlement of a person to make a withdrawal of moneys under the Scheme;

(d) the entitlement of a female employee or self-employed woman to any payment under section 9;

(e) the entitlement of an employer to reimbursement from the Government under section 10 or 11; or

(f) such other matter under Part II or III as the Minister may determine,

shall be referred to the Minister for decision within one month from the date on which the question or dispute arises or such other later time as the Minister may allow.

(2) The decision of the Minister under subsection (1) shall be final and conclusive.

Notification of change of residence

15.—(1) Every parent of a member shall notify the Minister of any change in his place of residence.

(2) Every parent who makes a report of the change of his place of residence under section 8 of the National Registration Act (Cap. 201) shall be deemed to have complied with subsection (1).

False or misleading statement

16.—(1) Any person who for any purpose connected with this Act—

(a) knowingly makes any false or misleading statement; or

(b) produces or furnishes or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished any document which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(2) Where a person has been convicted by the court of having made any false or misleading statement or having produced or furnished any document which is false or misleading in any material particular under subsection (1), the court may order that person to make restitution of any moneys paid out to that person by the Government in reliance of the false or misleading statement or document.

Failure of employer to pay female employee

17.—(1) Any employer who fails to pay his female employee in accordance with or acts in contravention of any provision of Part III or sections 77 to 86 of the Employment Act (Cap. 91) as made applicable by section 12 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(2) Where an employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (1), the court may order that employer to make restitution of any moneys paid out to that employer by the Government under section 10 which has not been paid to the female employee in accordance with the provisions of Part III.

Holding out as approved person

18.—(1) Where any person holds himself or itself out to be an approved person when the person is not an approved person, such person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(2) Where the person referred to in subsection (1) is a body corporate and the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(a) any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body; or

(b) any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,

he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of the offence under subsection (1) and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(3) Where the person referred to in subsection (1) is a partnership, every partner, other than a partner who is proved to have been ignorant of or attempted to prevent the commission of the offence, shall be guilty of the offence under subsection (1) and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Composition of offences

19. The Minister or any person authorised by him may, in his discretion, compound any offence under this Act by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $5,000, or in the case of an offence under section 17, a sum not exceeding $500.

Regulations

20.—(1) The Minister may make such regulations as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations relating to—

(a) the terms and conditions, manner and method of any payment to female employees and self-employed women under section 9;

(b) the manner and method of determining the income which a self-employed woman is entitled to claim from the Government under section 9;

(c) the manner by which and the terms and conditions subject to which an employer may be reimbursed under section 10;

(d) the authority responsible for the assessment and payment of the income which a self-employed woman is entitled to claim under section 9 or the reimbursement which an employer is entitled to claim under section 10;

(e) the registers and records to be maintained for the purposes of Part III and the forms and contents thereof; and

(f) the prescribing of anything that may be prescribed under this Act.

(3) Any regulations made under this section may provide that any act or omission in contravention of any regulation shall be an offence and may provide for the imposition of penalties for such offence not exceeding a fine of $20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

Exemption

21. The Minister may, subject to such terms and conditions as he may specify, exempt any person from complying with any requirement of this Act.

Consequential amendment to Education Endowment Scheme Act

22. Section 7 of the Education Endowment Scheme Act (Cap. 87A) is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:

"(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be established a fund to be called the Edusave Pupils Fund into which shall be paid—

(a) all contributions under section 9;

(b) all income of that Fund; and

(c) all moneys to be transferred to a member’s Edusave account under the Children Development Co-Savings Act 2001,

and out of which shall be met all payments authorised to be paid under this Act.".