What is the SEC, CTO and EEC?
Senior Employment Credit (SEC)
Under
the SEC, the Government provides wage offsets to help employers that employ
Singapore workers aged 55 and above adjust to the higher Retirement Age and
Re-employment Age.
The
wage offset applies to Singaporean workers aged 55 and above and earning up to
$4,000 per month. More support will be given for the higher age bands.
The
SEC will take effect from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022. For wages paid during
this period, employers will receive up to 8% of the wages paid to Singaporean
workers aged 55 and above, depending on the workers’ age and wage.
CPF Transition Offset (CTO)
To
alleviate the rise in business costs due to the increase in CPF contribution
rates for senior workers, the Government will provide employers with a transitionary
wage offset equivalent to 50% of the increase in employer CPF contribution
rates in the year of the increase, for every Singaporean and Permanent Resident
worker they employ aged above 55 to 70.
The
offset to employers will be based on employees’ monthly incomes1
paid up to the CPF salary ceiling of $6,000 per month.
Enabling Employment Credit (EEC)
To
support the employment of persons with disabilities, the
EEC will be given to
employers that hire Singaporean employees with disabilities aged 13 and above
and earning below $4,000 per month.
The
EEC provides a wage offset of up to 20% of the employees’ monthly income,
capped at a maximum of $400
per month for each employee.
In addition,
employers hiring Singaporean employees with disabilities who have not been
working for at least six months will receive an additional 10% wage offset,
capped at $200 per month for each employee, for the first
6 months of employment.
The EEC will be
available for five years from 2021 to 2025. To ensure that the EEC remains
helpful for PwDs to find and remain in employment, the Ministry of Manpower
will review the EEC after two years and make adjustments if necessary.
Who qualifies for the SEC, CTO and EEC?
SEC | CTO | EEC |
---|
All employers that employ employees (Singapore Citizens) aged 55 years and above, earning a monthly declared wage of up to $4,000 and have made timely mandatory CPF contributions for the employee will qualify for the payout. | All employers that employ local employees (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) aged above 55 to 70 and have made timely mandatory CPF contributions for the employee will qualify for the payout. | All employers that employ persons with disabilities (Singapore Citizens) aged 13 and above, earning a monthly declared wage of up to $4,000 and have made timely mandatory CPF contributions for the employee will qualify for the payout. |
Wages paid to business owners2 or employers trading in their own personal capacity3 will not be eligible for the SEC, CTO and EEC even if they made CPF contributions for themselves through their entity. |
Local government agencies, International Organisations and businesses not registered in Singapore do not qualify for the schemes.
a. Local Government Agencies including Organs of State, Ministries and Departments, Statutory Boards
b. Government and Government-Aided Schools
c. PA Services and Grassroot Units
d. High Commissions, Embassies, Trade Offices, Consulate
e. Unregistered Local/Foreign Entities
f. Foreign Military Units
g. Representative offices of:
I. Foreign companies
II. Foreign Government Agencies
III. Foreign Trade Associations/ Foreign Chambers/ Foreign Non-profit Organisations
IV. Foreign Law Practices
h. Bank Representative Offices/Insurance Representative Officers/Other Financial Representative Offices (registered with MAS); News Bureaus (which are representative offices);
I. International Organisations
j. Entities which pay CPF but are not registered in Singapore
How do employers apply for the payouts?
Employers
do not need to apply for the payouts. IRAS will notify eligible employers
regarding the amount payable to them electronically based on their notification
preferences for Income Tax/GST, as updated with IRAS. To receive timely notifications when your notices are
ready for viewing, please update your notification preferences in myTax Portal
at IRAS website.
When will employers receive the payouts?
For wages paid from January
to June, employers will receive the payout in September the same year. For
wages paid from July to December, employers will receive the payout in March
the following year.
How do employers receive the payouts?
In line with Singapore’s Smart Nation
efforts, all payouts will be disbursed through GIRO or PayNow Corporate. No cheques will be issued for the payouts.
Payouts will automatically
be credited to employers' GIRO bank account for Income Tax/GST. For those without GIRO accounts, the payout will be credited
to their bank account that is registered with PayNow Corporate. Employers who
are not already on these direct crediting modes have to sign up for these modes
– GIRO or PayNow Corporate4 to receive their payouts.
How is each payout computed?
Senior Employment Credit (SEC)
For wages paid from 1 January 2021 to 31
December 2022, employers will get up to 8% of the wages paid to senior
Singaporean workers aged 55 and above, and earning up to $4,000 per month. The
wage offset is dependent on the workers’ age and wage. More support will be
given for the higher age bands and for those earning below $3,000 per month.
Monthly SEC payouts per employee for 2021:
Monthly wage of employee | Aged
55-59 (>=55 yrs and <60 yrs) | Aged
60-64 (>=60yrs and <65yrs) | Aged 65-66 (>=65yrs and <67yrs) | Aged 67 and above (>=67yrs)
|
---|
Up to $3,000 | 2% of wage | 3% of wage | 5% of wage | 8% of wage |
---|
>$3,000 to $4,000 | $240 – (0.06*wage) | $360 – (0.09*wage) | $600 – (0.15*wage) | $960 – (0.24*wage) |
---|
Monthly SEC payouts per employee for 2022:
Monthly wage of employee | Aged 55-59 (>=55 yrs and <60 yrs) | Aged 60-64 (>=60yrs and <65yrs) | Aged 65-66 (>=65yrs and <67yrs) | Aged 67 and above (>=67yrs) |
---|
Up to $3,000 | 1% of wage | 3% of wage | 5% of wage | 8% of wage |
---|
>$3,000 to $4,000 | $120 – (0.03*wage) | $360 – (0.09*wage) | $600 – (0.15*wage) | $960 – (0.24*wage) |
---|
CPF Transition Credit (CTO)
The
Government will provide employers with a transitory wage offset equivalent to
half of the increase in employer CPF contribution rates for senior workers in
the year of increase. More details on CTO computation will be made available
later.
Enabling Employment Credit (EEC)
The EEC will be paid to
employers of Singaporean persons with disabilities (PwDs) aged 13 and above, and earning below $4,000 per month. In
addition, employers who hire persons with disabilities who have not been in employment for the past six months will receive an
additional wage offset for the first six months of employment.
Monthly Wage of Employee
with disability ($) | Payout | Additional payout if
employee was not employed for the past six months, for up to the first 6 months of employment only |
---|
≤ $2000 | 20% of wage | 10% of wage |
> $2,000 | $400 | $200 |
> $3,000 to $4,000 | $1,600 - 0.4*wage | $800 - 0.2*wage |
Note: Employees eligible for EEC will not be eligible
for the SEC (i.e. not stackable).
Employers
can use the following calculators to calculate their respective payout
amount(s) and check their eligibility.
SEC Calculator (XLSX, 110KB)
EEC Calculator (XLSX, 73KB)
How do employers submit request for breakdown of the payouts?
Employers
may log in to myTaxPortal using CorpPass (for a non-individual employer) or
SingPass (as an individual employer) to view the breakdown of the total payout
by employee. More details will be provided nearer the payout date in August
2021.
Can employers appeal to qualify for the schemes?
You
may appeal using the appeal form (available from September 2021). Appeals will only be accepted if we receive
your applications within three months of your payouts (i.e. for the payouts in
March, by 30 June, and for the payouts in September, by 31 December.)
How will the Government detect abuse of the schemes?
The
Government takes a serious view on any attempt to abuse the
scheme. Offenders may have their payouts denied and can be charged under
Section 420 of the Penal Code, where they may face up to 10 years of
imprisonment and a fine.
Businesses or individuals who wish to report to IRAS any malpractices or
potential abuses of the schemes may do so via email to askpayout@iras.gov.sg. IRAS will ensure that the identities of
informants are kept strictly confidential.
Contacting IRAS
Please submit your enquiry via
FormSG. For urgent assistance, you may call 6351 3288 (8 a.m. - 5 p.m. from Mon to Fri, excluding public holidays).