CPFB | Saving as an employee

Growing your savings

Saving as an employee with CPF contributions

As an employee, your employer is required to make CPF contributions for you. This helps you to save for retirement, housing, and healthcare needs. Find out more about your CPF rights and verify your CPF contributions with the CPF Contribution Alert.

Updates on 1 April 2024

To keep pace with rising wages and strengthen retirement adequacy of senior employees, there will be changes to the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling and contribution rates from 1 Jan 2025. Find out more about these changes.

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Your CPF rights

What you should know as an employee

Who should receive CPF contributions?

Employees

Under the CPF Act, an employee is defined as:

A person who is employed in Singapore under a Contract of Service (COS); or
A Singapore Citizen who is employed under a contract of service or other agreement entered into in Singapore as a master, seaman, or apprentice in any vessel.

If you’re a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident employee earning total wages of more than $50 per month, your employer must contribute CPF for you.

An employee can be employed on full-time, part-time, temporary, contract, or casual basis.

Learn more (PDF, 0.2MB)

Employees exempted from CPF contributions

Some employees are exempted from CPF contributions. They include students who fulfil exemption criteria, foreigners, domestic employees, employees of the United Nations, and seamen who fulfil exemption criteria.

Employees working in Singapore for an overseas employer

CPF contributions are required on wages payable to any Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident employee working in Singapore, even if the contract is signed overseas.

Learn more

Self-employed persons

You’re not an employee if you’re engaged under a contract for service (CFS), work for yourself, and are in the position to realise a business profit or loss. As a self-employed person, you’re required to make mandatory MediSave contributions under the Self-Employed Scheme.

Learn more

What payments attract CPF contributions?

Wages

Wages attract CPF contributions. Some examples of wages include:

Basic wage
Overtime pay
Cash incentive
Allowance
Bonus
Commission

Some payments are not wages. Examples include termination benefit, reimbursement, and benefit in kind.

See more examples

Ordinary Wages and Additional Wages

Wages can be classified as Ordinary Wages (OW) or Additional Wages (AW).

Want to find out the difference between OW and AW?

See definition

Ordinary Wage (OW) and Additional Wage (AW) ceilings

The OW and AW ceilings limit the amount of wages that would attract CPF contributions. The OW ceiling is capped per month, while the AW ceiling is calculated on a per annum basis.

Need to calculate your AW ceiling?

Use calculator

How much CPF contributions should you receive?

Contribution rates

Your employer is required to make CPF contributions at the rate applicable to you. The CPF contribution rate depends on whether you’re a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, your age, and your total wages.

View contribution rates (PDF, 0.1MB)

Determine CPF contributions

Need to calculate your CPF contributions?

Use calculator

Your share of CPF contributions

Your employer is required to pay the total CPF contributions (comprising employer and employee’s shares) for you each month. Your employer is entitled to recover the employee’s share of CPF contributions when paying your wages for the month.

However, if you earn above $50 but not more than $500 per month, there’s no employee’s share of CPF contributions. Your employer is still required to pay the employer's share of CPF contributions for you.

Allocation rates

Your CPF contributions are allocated to three accounts: Ordinary Account (OA), Special Account (SA), and MediSave Account (MA).

When you’re younger, more of your CPF contributions are allocated to your OA to support your home purchase. As you grow older, more CPF contributions are allocated to your SA and MA to meet growing healthcare and retirement needs.

View allocation rates (PDF, 0.2MB)

Want to know how your CPF contributions are allocated to the three accounts?

Use calculator

When should you receive your CPF contributions?

Due date for CPF contributions

The due date for CPF contributions is on the last day of the calendar month. Enforcement action would be taken against employers who fail to pay by the 14^th of the following month (or the next working day if the 14^th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday).

If you’re not paid your CPF contributions on time, you should approach your employer for an explanation and ask when your employer will be making the payment.

Verify your CPF

Check that your CPF contributions are correct

Although your employer is responsible for making CPF contributions every month, do check that your CPF contributions are correct so that errors can be rectified as soon as possible.

Look out for the CPF Contribution Alert

Get notified when your CPF contributions are credited in your CPF accounts. You are encouraged to keep your contact details updated to receive the alert.

Learn more Download user guide

Check your wages and CPF contributions

The Employment Act requires your employer to provide you with an itemised pay slip. Verify the wages and CPF paid against your pay slip. Use the CPF contribution calculator to verify your CPF contributions. Also check if your CPF contributions are promptly made.

Use calculator

Approach your employer if any discrepancies are found

If your CPF contributions are not paid on time or discrepancies are found, please approach your employer for clarification immediately while documentary evidence is fresh. Your employer is expected to self-rectify errors without delay. If your employer does not provide you with a satisfactory response, you can lodge a report with CPF Board.

For CPF contributions paid in error, your employer will need to submit a request for adjustment or refund immediately, and no later than one year from the date of payment.

How to verify the CPF Contribution Alert email is legitimate

Ways of verification

Ensure that the sender’s email address is correctly spelt and ends with “@e.cpf.gov.sg”.

Ensure that the hyperlinks or links you click on has a domain ending with “.gov.sg”.

Find out more on how to avoid falling prey to phishing scams

Get notifications via CPF Mobile app

Get personalised notifications on your CPF contributions

You can also receive the CPF Contribution Alert through the CPF Mobile app. Remember to enable personalised notifications within the app to start receiving alerts.

Download CPF Mobile app

Facing issues

What should you do if something’s not right

It’s the employer’s obligation to pay CPF contributions correctly and promptly. You should first approach your employer to clarify if there are issues with your CPF contributions or declared wages. Your employer is expected to self-rectify any errors immediately.

Learn more (0.1MB, PDF)

CPF contributions not paid or underpaid

Your employer will need to make good on the CPF contributions.

CPF contributions overpaid

Your employer can apply for an adjustment or refund no later than one year from the date of payment. We’ll inform you when we make the refund.

Wrong wage declared

Your employer should inform the CPF Board about this wrong wage declaration. Your employer should declare wages accurately in the future.

What can the CPF Board do to assist if you need help

If you’re not satisfied with your employer’s explanations, or if your employer is not cooperative, you can contact the CPF Board for assistance.

CPF contributions not paid or underpaid

You should lodge a report immediately, with your supporting documents (e.g. pay slips or employment contract). We will investigate your claim.

Lodge a report

CPF contributions overpaid

Write to us as soon as possible and let us know who your employer is and your wages for the month affected. We’ll contact your employer on the refund.

Write to us

Wrong wage declared

Write to us and let us know who your employer is and the breakdown of your wages as shown in your payslip for the month affected.

Write to us

Workright: know your employment rights

The Workright initiative was launched by the Ministry of Manpower and the CPF Board to help you understand your rights in accordance with the Employment Act (EA) and CPF Act. If you need to lodge a report on both CPF and EA-related claims, you may email mom_lrwd@mom.gov.sg or call the Workright hotline at 1800-221-9922.

Find out more

Employer obligations and non-compliance

The CPF Board takes a serious view on employers who do not pay CPF contributions correctly and promptly to their employees. Employers who failed to pay or underpay CPF contributions for their employees are required to make good on the CPF contributions. Enforcement actions would be taken and penalties imposed.

The CPF Board has a system to detect employers who are late in paying CPF contributions, and also conducts regular audits on employers to check if CPF contributions paid are correct.

If your employer is in financial difficulties, while CPF Board will continue to take enforcement actions, you should be mentally prepared that unless the employer’s business turn for the better, the CPF contributions owed may not be recoverable. To avoid adding to the amounts owed, you may wish to assess your situation carefully and consider approaching Workforce Singapore for job switch assistance.

You can protect yourself by checking if your CPF contributions are prompt and accurate. If you have registered your email address with us, or enabled personalised notifications on the CPF Mobile app, you will receive our CPF Contribution Alert when your CPF contributions are credited in your CPF accounts. For example, you will be notified when your CPF contributions for the month of September 2022 have been credited any day between 1 September to 31 October 2022.

If your CPF contributions are not paid on time or accurately, please approach your employer for clarification immediately while documentary evidence is fresh. If CPF contributions were paid in error, your employer will need to submit a request for adjustment or refund without delay, and no later than one year from the due date of payment. If your employer does not provide you with a satisfactory response, you can lodge a report with CPF Board.