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What Is CPF Contribution Rate? Types and Latest Update 2022

Workclass.co, What Is CPF Contribution Rate? - Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a Singapore's governmental organization that provides a mandatory social security savings scheme funded by contributions from employers and employees. This organization was established in 1955 to help workers save for their retirement. The purpose of CPF is to enable Singaporeans to have a secure retirement through lifelong income, healthcare financing, and home financing.

Through the years, CPF is pivotal for the lives of Singaporeans. When people grow older and no longer in their productive or working age, they deserve retirement security. With CPF, they don't have to pay rental fees out of their retirement savings anymore. CPF also helps them to plan for their financial wellbeing throughout life early.

Only Singapore citizens or permanent resident employees earning more than $50 per month can receive CPF contributions. The amount of money they receive or the contribution rate can also be different depending on the factors such as whether you're a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, ages, and total wages.

The CPF contribution rate between employee and employer is also different. Since 1 January 2022, the CPF contribution rate has been increased in order to strengthen their retirement adequacy for the employees aged 55-70. Here's the details of the current rate.

Employee's Age (years)

CPF Contribution Rate Changes from 1 Jan 2022

(monthly wage > $750)

Total

(% of wage)

By Employer

(% of wage)

By Employee

(% of wage)

< 55

37

17

20

55 – 60

28

14

14

60- 65

18. 5

10

8. 5

65 – 70

14

8

6

70 >

12. 5

7. 5

5

Source: CPF 

There are several things you should know regarding the increase in the CPF contribution rate. Next to the strengthening the retirement adequacy, it will be fully allocated to the employees' Special Account (SA) to provide a bigger boost to their retirement income.

As that change is directed for those earning above $750 and ages between 55 and 70, the contribution rate for people earning between $500 and $750 will continue to be phased in. Last, there are no changes to the graduated contribution rates for the first and second year Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs).

However, if you want to know the details of CPF contribution rate for different categories of total wages, you can check CPF contribution rate table from 1 January 2022 for Singapore citizens and SPR for third year onwards.

Employee's Age

Employee's Monthly Total Wages

Total CPF Contributions (Employer's & Employee's share)

Employee's Share of CPF Contributions

 

<55

<$50

-

-

 

$50 - $500

17% (TW)

-

 

$500 - $750

17% (TW) + 0.6 (TW - $500)

0.6 (TW - $500)

 

>$750

[37% (OW)]* + 37% (aw)

*max. of $2,220

[20% (OW)]* + 20% (AW)

*max. of $1,200

 

55 - 60

<$50

-

-

 

$50 - $500

14% (TW)

-

 

$500 - $750

14% (TW) + 0.42 (TW - $500)

0.42 (TW - $500)

 

>$750

[28% (OW)]* + 28% (AW)

*max. of $1,680

[14% (OW)]* + 14% (AW)

*max. of $840

 

60 – 65

<$50

-

-

 

$50 - $500

10% (TW)

-

 

$500 - $750

10% (TW) + 0.255 (TW - $500)

0.255 (TW - $500)

 

>$750

[18.5% (OW)]* + 18.5% (AW)

*max. of $1,110

[8.5% (OW)]* + 8.5% (AW) * Max. of $510

 

65 – 70

<$50

-

-

 

$50 - $500

8% (TW)

-

 

$500 - $750

8% (TW) + 0.18 (TW - $500)

0.18 (TW - $500)

 

>$750

[14% (OW)]* + 14% (AW)

*max. of $840

[6% (OW)]* + 6% (AW)

*max. of $360

 

>70

<$50

-

-

 

$50 - $500

7.5% (TW)

-

 

$500 - $750

7.5% (TW) + 0.15 (TW - $500)

0.15 (TW - $500)

 

>$750

[12.5% (OW)]* + 12.5% (AW)

*max. of $750

[5% (OW)]* + 5% (AW)

*max. of $300

 

Source: CPF https://www.cpf.gov.sg/content/dam/web/employer/employer-obligations/documents/CPFContributionRatesTable_1Jan2022.pdf

OW: Ordinary Wages (capped at OW Ceiling of $6,000)

AW: Additional Wages

TW: Total Wages = OW + AW

Now, how do you compute the CPF contribution?

First, compute the total CPF contribution, the one rounded to the nearest dollar. Cents should be dropped for an amount less than 50 cents. An amount of 50 cents and above should be treated as an additional dollar. Second, compute the employee's share of CPF contribution (cents should be dropped). Last, employer's share = total contribution – employee's share.

As a side note, these rates are also applicable to 1st and 2nd year SPR employees and their employers after CPF Board approves their joint application to contribute to CPF at full employer-full employee rates.

However, if you want to know how the CPF contributions are allocated to the three accounts, in an easier way compared to following the formula above, you should use the CPF calculator that can be accessed here.

Read More: CPF Contribution Rate Update 2022

Speaking about SA, it's one of the four types of CPF account that you need to know. The four types of CPF account have their own purpose for each account, so you know where the money you contributed for CPF go.

1. Ordinary Account (OA)

For housing, retirement, insurance, and investment

2. Special Account (SA)

For older age and investment in financial products for retirement

3. MediSave Account (SA)

For healthcare, hospital expenses, and approved medical insurance

4. Retirement Account (RA)

Unlike the above three type, RA will be automatically created when you're 55, at which point you may be able to make some withdrawals, or purchase an annuity when you reach payout age.

Read More: Type of CPF Account

When you join the workforce early or at a young age, your CPF contribution will be allocated to your OA to support your home purchase. As you grow older, your CPF contribution will start to be allocated for SA and MA purposes in order to meet growing healthcare and retirement needs.

Since CPF is for one's lifelong purpose, it's important to occasionally check your CPF contribution to remain correct. Although your employer is responsible for making CPF contributions every month, you still need to check it yourself as well so any errors can be prevented and solved as soon as possible. There are four things you can do to ensure your CPF contribution is still on the right path.

  1. Keep your contact details updated to receive the alert. It's important to get notified when your CPF contributions are credited in your CPF accounts. However this is a pilot service for selected members.
  2. Verify the wages and CPF paid against your pay slip. Use the CPF contribution calculator to verify your CPF contributions, also to check if they are promptly made here.
  1. Approach your employer if you find errors in your CPF report. Be it due to your CPF contributions not being paid on time, discrepancies happening, and many other reasons. However if your employer doesn't provide you with a satisfactory explanation, you can lodge a report with the CPF Board.
  2. Know your employment rights. It's important to have knowledge that your employment rights are in accordance with the Employment Act (EA) and CPF Act. So the Ministry of Manpower and the CPF Board launched The Workright Initiative.

The CPF contribution rate change didn't end in 2022. In fact, it will gradually rise which means alterations to both the age bandings and contribution percentages. This is a good thing because as it has been announced in 2019, the reformation of CPF will be fully completed by 2030. It means, workers aged up to 60 will benefit from the full CPF rates by 2030.

It's also part of Singapore's long-term goal of improving retirement adequacy. From January 2023, the employer and employee CPF contribution for employees aged 55 – 70 will continue to increase by up to 1 percentage point each. This was announced on 18 February by Finance Minister, Lawrence Wong, in his Budget 2022 speech.

Also, with the rising standards of living, the increasing contribution rate will provide members with higher monthly CPF payouts in their retirement years. For example, people who set aside the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) in 2027 when they're 55 will receive payouts of close to $1,000 per month when they are 65.

BRS or Basic Retirement Sum, as the name itself, provides monthly payouts in retirement that cover basic living expenses. According to the CPF site, you can set aside the BRS if you own property in Singapore with a remaining lease that can last you to at least 95 years old. The other two types of retirement sums are Full Retirement Sum (FRS) that can provide monthly payouts two times higher than BRS that also cover rental expenses. Last, Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS) is three times higher than BRS.

And if you need to find out which retirement sums are applicable to you, the table below can help you to determine which one is well-suited for you when you turn 55 from 2017 – 2027.

If you turn 55 in

BRS

FRS

ERS

2017

$83,000

$166,000

$249,000

2018

$85,500

$171,000

$256,500

2019

$88,000

$176,000

$264,000

2020

$90,500

$181,000

$271,500

2021

$93,000

$186,000

$279,000

2022

$96,000

$192,000

$288,000

2023

$99,400

$198,800

$298,200

2024

$102,900

$205,800

$308,700

2025

$106,500

$213,000

$319,500

2026

$110,200

$220,400

$330,600

2027

$114,100

$228,200

$342,300

Source: CPF

Next, you can find out how much savings you need to set aside for your desired payouts here. Because you need to know how much savings you need to determine how much you set aside as it also depends on your CPF balances and desired monthly payouts.

BRS, FRS, and ERS, belong to one Singapore's retirement scheme called Retirement Sum Scheme (RSS). The thing that you also need to know is that there's another scheme or program that might interest you. It's called CPF Life and was introduced in 2009.

Both RSS and CPF Life are under CPF Board. Both provide monthly payouts from your Payout Eligibility Age (PEA) whish age 65 from 2018. The difference between the two is that RSS's payouts will last until your RA savings run out. While in CPF, your payouts will last for as long as you live.

If you're not placed on CPF Life, you will be on RSS. Because there are two factors that determine which scheme you're in. First, your birth year. Second, the amount of savings in your RA before reaching 65. However it's possible if you're born between 1 January 1958 and 30 April 1961 to be placed on CPF Life if you also had $40,000 in your RA when you turn 55 (between 1 January 2013 and 30 April 2016). Second, if you have $60,000 in your RA six months before your PEA.

Also read: A Deep Dive into CPF LIFE

You can start receiving payouts from age 70 by fulfilling these requirements:

  1. Complete the hardcopy form that comes with the letter
  2. Complete the online form on the CPF website
  3. Visit one of the five CPF Service Centres islandwide

CPF also provides a distribution system if you pass away before you can start using your retirement payouts. For sure, all the savings in the deceased person's CPF accounts will be distributed. The distribution process itself depends on whether the deceased made a nomination or not. But if the deceased did not have a valid CPF nomination, the CPF savings will be forwarded to the Public Trustee Office for distribution in line with Singapore's intestacy laws.

Even for the deceased who haven't made a nomination, the distribution destination is also different. The CPF savings of non-Muslim members who haven't made a nomination will be distributed in line with the Interstate Succession Act. While for the Muslim members, the CPF savings will be distributed in line with the Administration of Muslim Law Act.

Making CPF nominations is another important part of taking advantage of CPF wisely. You get to decide who deserves your CPF savings. Because if you don't, it will be distributed by the Public Trustee's Office to your family members based on the law and you can't decide which family member will receive your savings and how much they will receive.

Finally, CPF is a Singapore's social security savings scheme funded by contributions from employers and employees that has been proven to be pivotal in Singaporeans lives since 1955. It covers individual benefits such as retirement, housing, insurance, healthcare, and investment.

It's highly important because when you are old and can't go to work anymore, you still need to have your basic needs to be fulfilled. CPF gives you monthly payouts and guarantees you to be able to live well even though you are not in your working age anymore. The yearly increasing contribution rate can't be avoided as the standards of living keep rising. Making this a Singapore's goal to improve retirement adequacy for the long-term.

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