They will get the same 16-week maternity leave that other mothers get and their children will also be given a Child Development Account, which helps pay for childcare and healthcare needs.
The announcement was made by Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin on Tuesday (April 12).
The maternity leave benefits will kick in from early next year as Parliament "will need to amend legislation to make this happen", said Mr Tan.
But children born to unwed mothers will likely be included in the Child Development Account scheme from the third-quarter of 2016, he added.
Explaining the changes, Mr Tan said: "I feel that we can do more to support their efforts to care for their children, and reduce the disadvantages that their children may face at birth."
He added: "I, too, am sympathetic to this group. Unwed parents may be vulnerable if they are younger and lower-educated. Some may have been rejected by their own families. It can be difficult to raise a child single-handedly, without family support. Some may have hoped to have a child within marriage, but ended up as unwed parents by circumstances."
Currently, unwed mothers are entitled to eight weeks of paid maternity leave and their children do not qualify for Child Development Accounts.
Source: The Straits Times
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