If you employ anyone in Singapore, CPF contributions are your monthly reality — and 2026 brought changes again. Here’s the working summary a small employer actually needs.
The 2026 rates by age band
For Singapore Citizens and PRs from their third year (percentages of ordinary wages — employer + employee = total):
| Employee age | Employer | Employee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 and below | 17% | 20% | 37% |
| Above 55–60 | 16% | 18% | 34% |
| Above 60–65 | 12.5% | 12.5% | 25% |
| Above 65–70 | 9% | 7.5% | 16.5% |
| Above 70 | 7.5% | 5% | 12.5% |
The 55–65 bands rose again in January 2026 — the ongoing multi-year effort to strengthen retirement adequacy for older workers. If your spreadsheet still has 2025 numbers, payslips for any staff over 55 are now wrong.
The ordinary wage ceiling is now $8,000
From 1 January 2026, CPF applies to the first $8,000 of monthly ordinary wages — the final step of the ceiling’s climb from $6,000 (2023). An employee earning $9,000 contributes as if they earned $8,000. The annual salary ceiling is $102,000, which caps additional wages like bonuses.
New PRs pay less at first
Permanent residents contribute at graduated rates in their first two years (for staff 55 and below: roughly 4% employer / 5% employee in year one, 9% / 15% in year two), reaching full rates from year three. Getting this wrong in either direction causes real problems — over-deducting from a new PR’s salary is a fast way to lose them.
Don’t forget the rounding rule — and SDL and SHG
CPF has a specific rounding convention: compute the total contribution and round to the nearest dollar; compute the employee’s share and drop the cents; the employer’s share is the difference. Naive spreadsheet rounding drifts by a dollar and technically makes the payslip inaccurate.
Two smaller levies ride along: SDL (Skills Development Levy — 0.25% of remuneration, minimum $2, capped at $11.25, employer-paid) and the SHG funds (CDAC, SINDA, MBMF or ECF — small employee-side deductions by wage band, with opt-out available).
Or let the math do itself
Every number above is encoded in our Payslip Generator: pick the employee’s age band and residency, enter the salary, and CPF, SDL and SHG appear on a MOM-compliant itemised payslip — with the rounding done the CPF Board way. Rates are stored in a single year-labelled file we update when they change.
Figures reflect published rates as at August 2026. For unusual cases (mid-year PR conversions, additional wage ceiling interactions), verify with the CPF Board’s calculators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whose age determines the rate?
The employee’s age. Contribution rates step down as employees cross 55, 60, 65 and 70 — the change applies from the month after the birthday month.
Do part-timers get CPF?
Yes — CPF applies to part-time and casual local employees too, at the same age-banded rates on their actual wages.
Is CPF payable for my domestic helper?
No. Foreign domestic workers are outside CPF; employers pay the FDW levy instead. Our payslip tool’s helper mode reflects this automatically.