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True cost of an employee
calculator (Singapore)

See what a salary really costs once employer CPF and the Skills Development Levy are added, at 2026 rates.

Your numbers

Fully loaded annual cost
 
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What is the employer CPF contribution rate in Singapore?

From 1 January 2026 it is 17% for employees 55 and below, 16% for above 55 to 60, 12.5% for above 60 to 65, 9% for above 65 to 70, and 7.5% above 70, charged on Ordinary Wages up to $8,000 a month.

How we calculated this

We convert the annual salary to a monthly wage and add the two employer costs that apply to a standard employee in Singapore. Employer CPF is charged at the rate for the age band you chose, on Ordinary Wages up to the $8,000 monthly ceiling, and only for Citizens and Permanent Residents; a foreign work pass holder attracts no CPF. The Skills Development Levy is 0.25% of monthly wages capped at $4,500, so between $2 and $11.25 a month, and it applies to everyone. Add both to the salary for the loaded cost. The working, the assumptions and the sources are all below.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of CPF contributions in the HR Glossary.

Your working
Assumptions
  • Uses the CPF employer rates in force from 1 January 2026: 17% for 55 and below, 16% for above 55 to 60, 12.5% for above 60 to 65, 9% for above 65 to 70, 7.5% above 70, on Ordinary Wages up to $8,000 a month. Rates for the above-55-to-65 bands rise again on 1 January 2027, so this is a 2026 figure.
  • Assumes a Citizen or a PR from the third year of PR status. First- and second-year PRs pay graduated rates that are much lower, so this overstates the cost of a new PR.
  • Assumes the whole salary is Ordinary Wages spread evenly across twelve months. Bonuses and other Additional Wages are subject to a separate annual ceiling ($102,000 less the year's Ordinary Wages), so a heavy bonus structure changes the CPF line.
  • Excludes two real costs for work pass holders, the foreign worker levy (which varies by pass type and quota) and mandatory medical insurance, and every non-statutory cost. For a foreign employee the figure shown is well below what the person actually costs.
Sources

What to do about it

In Singapore the loaded cost depends on who you hire as much as what you pay them, and the largest cost of all is the person who leaves inside a year with the CPF paid and the role open again. These steps are for whoever builds the headcount case, whether or not they approve it.

1

Budget on the loaded number and label the year

Put the fully loaded figure into the headcount request with the age band and residency it assumes, and mark it as 2026 rates. CPF rates for older workers step up again on 1 January 2027, so a plan built on today's number is already slightly light for next year.

2

Cost foreign hires properly

No CPF does not mean cheaper. Add the foreign worker levy for the pass type and the mandatory medical insurance before comparing a work pass holder with a local hire. Write the comparison down; the difference is rarely what people assume.

3

Price the exit next to the entry

Ask what it costs if this person leaves within twelve months: the loaded salary paid for partial output plus the recruitment again. Put that beside the loaded cost in the same document. It is the argument for spending time on selection now rather than later.

4
Where a tool helps

Define what a good hire looks like at twelve months before you advertise

What must this person have delivered, and how will they need to work with the team? If it is written down you can select for it with the same questions and the same scoring for every candidate. If it is not, the best interviewer wins.

5

Re-run this each January

CPF rates and ceilings change at the start of the year. Keep the loaded figure current for every open role so each case is made on live numbers.

The CPF line is fixed.
The hire is a choice.

Compono Hire is an applicant tracking system (ATS) that measures fit before you make the offer. It runs the process side you expect (job posting, pipeline, interview scheduling, offers) and adds the part most ATSs skip: a validated work personality and culture fit read on every candidate, scored the same way every time and shown next to the skills screen.

Step 4 asks you to define what a good hire looks like and select for it consistently. Hire does that inside the process, so the loaded cost above is committed to someone who stays and performs, and not paid twice for the same seat.

See how it works
Compono Hire
400+
stores on one standard process

Common questions

Do employers pay CPF for foreign employees?

No. CPF is payable only for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents earning more than $50 a month. Employers cannot contribute CPF for work pass holders even if asked. Foreign headcount instead attracts a foreign worker levy, which this calculator does not model.

What is the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling for 2026?

$8,000 a month, the final step of the phase-in that ran from $6,000 in 2023. The CPF annual salary ceiling is $102,000.

What is the Skills Development Levy?

0.25% of monthly wages capped at $4,500, so between $2 and $11.25 a month per employee. It is payable for every employee working in Singapore, including foreigners.

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 or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.

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CPF contributions

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