The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board mistakenly paid out $1.7 million extra in Medisave grants for 885 babies who were not citizens at birth, it revealed yesterday.
The board attributed the mistake to a “processing error” and said that it will recover the money from the babies’ Medisave accounts this month. Their parents will be informed by mail.
The babies, who received their citizenship after birth, were either not eligible for the Medisave Grant for Newborns, or should have received a pro-rated amount – depending on the age at which they became citizens.
However, between March last year and January this year, they each received between $1,000 and $3,000 more of the grant than they were eligible for. Newborns who were Singapore citizens at birth were not affected by the mistake.
In a statement yesterday, the board apologised for the error.
“We have rectified the work processes involved in the payment of the Medisave Grant for Newborns,” it said.
“We have also conducted a thorough review of our processes and have strengthened them to ensure accuracy in future Medisave Grant for Newborns payments.”
The $4,000 Medisave grant is given to all Singaporean newborns as part of the Marriage and Parenthood Package.
Families affected by the error can call the CPF Call Centre on 1800-227-1188, on weekdays between 8am and 5.30pm, if they need more information.
This article was first published on April 5, 2017.
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