The Central Provident Fund (CPF) is Singapore's national savings scheme — a mandatory contribution system that funds retirement, housing, and healthcare for employees who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents. As an employer, you are legally required to make CPF contributions for all eligible employees and submit them to the CPF Board by the 14th of the following month. Non-compliance is a criminal offence with penalties including fines and imprisonment.
Who Must Contribute to CPF?
CPF contributions apply to Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents employed in Singapore. Employment Pass (EP), S Pass, and work permit holders are NOT eligible for CPF — they contribute to their home country social security (if applicable) instead. However, PRs in their first two years of PR status are subject to a graduated (lower) contribution rate.
- Singapore Citizens (SC) and Permanent Residents (PR): mandatory CPF contributions
- Employment Pass, S Pass, Work Permit holders: NOT subject to CPF
- PR in 1st year of PR: reduced contribution rates apply (both employer and employee)
- PR in 2nd year of PR: intermediate contribution rates apply
- PR from 3rd year onwards: full rates apply (same as Singapore Citizens)
- Casual, temporary, and part-time employees (including domestic workers) are all subject to CPF if they are SC/PR
- Self-employed SCs and PRs must make MediSave contributions on their own (not covered by employer CPF)
Check your employee's PR anniversary date — the graduated rates change automatically at the 1-year and 2-year marks. Payroll software like Payub tracks this automatically.
CPF Contribution Rates
CPF contribution rates depend on the employee's age and, for PRs, how long they have held PR status. The rates are reviewed periodically by the CPF Board. As of 2025, the standard rates for employees aged 55 and below are 17% employer contribution and 20% employee contribution (37% total, subject to the wage ceiling).
- Employees aged 55 and below: Employer 17% + Employee 20% = Total 37%
- Employees aged 55–60: Employer 14.5% + Employee 15% = Total 29.5%
- Employees aged 60–65: Employer 11% + Employee 9% = Total 20%
- Employees aged 65–70: Employer 8.5% + Employee 7.5% = Total 16%
- Employees above 70: Employer 7.5% + Employee 5% = Total 12.5%
- Ordinary Wage (OW) Ceiling: S$6,800/month — CPF contributions apply on wages up to this ceiling
- Annual Wage Supplement (AWS) and bonuses: subject to CPF up to the Additional Wage (AW) Ceiling
The Ordinary Wage Ceiling has been progressively increasing. Check the CPF Board website each January for updated ceilings that take effect for the new year.
How CPF Contributions Are Allocated
CPF contributions are split across three accounts for each employee: the Ordinary Account (OA), Special Account (SA), and MediSave Account (MA). Each account serves a different purpose — OA for housing and education, SA for retirement savings, MA for healthcare. As an employer, you simply contribute the total amount and the CPF Board handles the allocation.
- Ordinary Account (OA): used for home purchase (HDB or private property), CPF Investment Scheme, education
- Special Account (SA): locked-in retirement savings; earns higher interest (4% vs OA's 2.5%)
- MediSave Account (MA): for approved medical expenses and MediShield Life premiums
- For employees aged 55 and below: OA gets ~23%, SA gets ~6%, MA gets ~8% of wages (total 37% employer + employee combined)
- At age 55, employees can withdraw CPF savings above the Basic Retirement Sum
- Employers are not responsible for tracking individual account allocations — CPF Board handles this automatically
CPF Submission Deadlines and Skills Development Levy
CPF contributions must be paid by the 14th of the month following the month in which wages are paid. If your payroll runs on the last day of the month, the CPF submission is due by the 14th of the following month. Late payment attracts interest of 1.5% per month on the outstanding amount.
- CPF submission deadline: 14th of the following month (e.g., January wages → February 14 deadline)
- Submit via CPF EZPay or payroll integration; direct debit via GIRO is the most reliable method
- Skills Development Levy (SDL): 0.25% of gross wages for all employees (not just SC/PR), capped at S$11.25 per employee per month
- SDL is submitted together with CPF contributions through the CPF Board portal
- SDL proceeds fund SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) workforce training programs
- Late CPF submission: 1.5% per month interest plus composition penalties up to 3x the outstanding amount
- Non-payment of CPF is a criminal offence — employers can be fined up to S$10,000 and imprisoned up to 7 years
Enable GIRO auto-debit for CPF payments. The 14th of the month is a firm deadline — bank transfers initiated on the 14th may not clear in time if initiated late in the day.
IR8A Filing and Annual Payroll Compliance
At year-end, Singapore employers are required to prepare and submit Form IR8A (Return of Employee's Remuneration) for every employee. This is the Singapore equivalent of a payroll tax summary and is used by IRAS to assess individual income tax. Most companies participate in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), which allows electronic IR8A submission directly to IRAS.
- IR8A deadline: March 1 of the following year (e.g., FY2024 IR8A due March 1, 2025)
- Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS): mandatory for companies with 5 or more employees; submit via myTax Portal
- AIS submission removes the requirement to issue paper IR8A to employees — IRAS auto-populates their income tax returns
- IR8A includes: gross salary, CPF contributions, benefits-in-kind, stock options, director fees
- Benefits-in-kind (company car, housing, club memberships) must be valued and reported in IR8A
- Foreign employees: Form IR21 (clearance) must be filed at least 1 month before the employee leaves Singapore permanently or is on unpaid leave for 3+ months
- What Payub handles: monthly CPF calculation and submission, SDL computation, year-end IR8A generation and AIS submission
Maintain accurate payroll records throughout the year — don't scramble to reconstruct them in February for the March 1 IR8A deadline. Payub keeps a real-time payroll register that makes IR8A generation a one-click task.
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