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HR Glossary

CPF contributions

Singapore · Singapore employment
What are CPF contributions?

CPF (Central Provident Fund) contributions are the mandatory retirement, housing and healthcare savings payments for Singapore citizens and permanent residents: employers pay 17% and employees 20% of wages for those aged 55 and below, on ordinary wages up to S$8,000 a month since 1 January 2026.

CPF at a glance (from 1 January 2026)

Age 55 and below17% employer / 20% employee
Above 55 to 6016% employer / 18% employee
Above 60 to 6512.5% employer / 12.5% employee
Ordinary Wage ceilingS$8,000 per month
Annual salary ceilingS$102,000
ForeignersNo CPF; Foreign Worker Levy applies to Work Permit / S Pass
Skills Development Levy0.25% of monthly wages, all employees

The rates as they stand

For employees aged 55 and below: 17% employer, 20% employee, 37% total. The senior bands rose on 1 January 2026 as part of the staged increases: above 55 to 60 now runs 16% employer and 18% employee, and above 60 to 65 runs 12.5% each; the above-65-to-70 band did not change in 2026. Further senior-band rises are already announced for 1 January 2027. The Ordinary Wage ceiling reached S$8,000 a month on 1 January 2026, the final step of the rise that started in 2023, with the annual salary ceiling holding at S$102,000.

What employers get wrong

Three recurring errors: missing that CPF applies to bonuses and most cash payments (subject to the Additional Wage ceiling), not just base salary; applying citizen rates to new permanent residents (graduated rates apply in the first two years unless both parties opt for full rates); and forgetting that foreigners on work passes get no CPF at all, but attract the Foreign Worker Levy for Work Permit and S Pass holders instead. The Skills Development Levy (0.25% of wages, small caps) applies to every employee, local and foreign, on top.

CPF against its peers

CPF's 17% employer rate makes Australia's 12% superannuation guarantee look modest and the UK's 3% auto-enrolment minimum look nominal, but the comparison is architectural, not just arithmetic: CPF funds housing and healthcare as well as retirement, and the employee's own 20% makes the total savings rate one of the highest anywhere. For regional workforce budgeting, the practical line is that a Singapore hire costs roughly 17% above salary before benefits, with the ceiling capping the effect for high earners.

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Superannuation guarantee

The superannuation guarantee (SG) is the minimum percentage of an employee's ordinary time earnings that an Australian employer must pay into their superannuation fund, set at 12% since 1 July 2025.

Read the definition →Related term

KiwiSaver employer contributions

KiwiSaver employer contributions are the payments New Zealand employers must make into the retirement savings scheme of each contributing employee, a minimum of 3.5% of gross salary since 1 April 2026 (rising to 4% from April 2028).

Read the definition →Related term

Pension auto-enrolment

Pension auto-enrolment is the UK requirement that employers automatically enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension and contribute to it, with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer.

Read the definition →Related term

Employment Act (Singapore)

The Employment Act is Singapore's main employment statute, covering every employee under a contract of service regardless of salary (with narrow exceptions such as seafarers, domestic workers and public servants).

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Where
Compono fits.

Compono is a talent intelligence platform: an applicant tracking system and an employee engagement platform built on the same people data.

A Singapore salary carries 17% on top before you start. Price the full cost.

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Compono
$34M
saved by VicRoads over two years

Common questions

Do employers pay CPF for foreign employees?

No. CPF applies to Singapore citizens and permanent residents only; work pass holders sit outside it, with the Foreign Worker Levy applying to Work Permit and S Pass holders instead.

Is CPF payable on bonuses?

Yes, as Additional Wages, up to the annual Additional Wage ceiling (S$102,000 minus ordinary wages subject to CPF). Structuring pay to dodge CPF is an offence, not an optimisation.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the Ministry of Manpower (mom.gov.sg) or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.