This Country Where a 'Speedy' Marriage Registration and Divorce Occur... Discussing Home Purchase on the Second Date

Government Subsidy Payments Affected by 'Age and Income' Criteria
Rush in Marriage Registration Leads to Rising Divorce Rates
Divorce Rate for Women Aged 30-34 Doubles from 4% to 7.2% in 14 Years

It has been confirmed that as young Singaporeans register their marriages early to receive economic benefits when purchasing public housing, the divorce rate has also increased accordingly. Since there are age and income restrictions on the benefits, couples confirm their intention to buy a house early in their relationship, and because they rush to register their marriage first, divorces have become frequent.

Bloomberg recently reported, "More young couples in Singapore are marrying early to buy homes and later regretting it," adding, "They are applying for public housing within just a few months of starting to date."

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Eight out of ten Singaporeans live in public housing. Although public housing includes a rental concept, it can be sold after a 99-year lease period, so it is practically equivalent to owning a home.

The Singapore government, as part of its family-friendly policies, provides subsidies when young people under 35 get engaged, married, or have children while purchasing public housing. The couple’s monthly income must be below 14,000 Singapore dollars (approximately 1.44 million KRW). Bloomberg points out that this system is prompting young Singaporeans to register their marriages earlier.

Phyllis Kum, a 25-year-old Singaporean female accountant, revealed that after meeting her boyfriend in June 2022, they started discussing public housing purchase early in their relationship by checking each other’s income limits. As their relationship lengthened, they worried their incomes would rise beyond the government subsidy threshold, and eventually, after dating for one year and six months, they purchased public housing in December last year. They plan to marry in 2026 and move in by 2027.

Serena Wong, a 28-year-old Singaporean working woman, also started discussing the expected timing of public housing purchase during her second meeting with her boyfriend. They applied for public housing six months after starting to date. She said, "We had marriage in mind, but the housing prices made us move everything faster."

The problem is that this eagerness to buy housing is advancing the timing of marriage registration, which is raising the divorce rate. According to a study published last month by researchers at the National University of Singapore, the marriage rate for women aged 25?29 rose from 45% in 2000 to 60% in 2014. During the same period, the marriage rate for men aged 30?34 also increased from 22% to 37%. Checking their status five years later, the divorce rate for women aged 30?34 rose from 4% to 7.2%, and for men aged 35?39, it increased from 3.5% to 6.3%. The researchers evaluated that "the government’s housing policies hastened marriage decisions and also affected post-marriage situations."

The Singapore government has been using benefits tied to public housing allocation to address the ultra-low birthrate issue. Singapore’s total fertility rate fell below 1 for the first time ever last year, reaching 0.97. The fertility rate, which was 1.12 in 2021 and 1.04 in 2022, is expected to continue declining.