Employer of record in Singapore: CPF, costs and rules

How Singapore's employer obligations differ

Singapore's payroll cost comes down to one scheme, the Central Provident Fund, and the rate depends on age and residency.

• Employer CPF by age: 17% up to 55, 16% from 55 to 60, 12.5% from 60 to 65, 9% from 65 to 70 and 7.5% above 70, for monthly wages above SGD 750. First- and second-year PRs pay graduated rates. The employee adds 20% at age 55 and under. Rates for ages 55 to 65 changed on January 1, 2026, and CPF has announced further senior-worker increases from January 1, 2027.
• A higher wage ceiling. The Ordinary Wage ceiling rose to SGD 8,000 a month from January 1, 2026 (SGD 7,400 in 2025). CPF also lists an annual salary ceiling of SGD 102,000 for ordinary plus additional wages, stated for 2016 onward but not restated for 2026 on the page we read.
• No statutory bonus and no general minimum wage. Any 13th month or year-end bonus is a contract term. We did not check the sector Progressive Wage Model rules.
• Leave grows with service. The Employment Act gives 7 days of annual leave in year 1, rising by a day a year to 14 days from year 8, once the employee has 3 months of service.
• Notice when the contract is silent. 1 day under 26 weeks of service, 1 week from 26 weeks to under 2 years, 2 weeks from 2 to under 5 years, and 4 weeks from 5 years. Notice must be equal for both sides.

We have not yet confirmed the Skills Development Levy, public holiday count, retrenchment benefit norm, probation, working hours or pay frequency from an official page. The Ministry of Manpower (mom.gov.sg) publishes all of them.

Employment costs and rules in Singapore

What an EOR charges to employ someone in Singapore

Costing an SGD 51,169 hire, local or foreign

Monthly pay is 51,169 / 12 = SGD 4,264.08, under the SGD 8,000 ceiling, so the full 17% applies to every dollar of ordinary wages.

The ceiling caps the CPF bill for senior hires: at SGD 8,000 a month or more, employer CPF on ordinary wages stops at 17% x 8,000 = SGD 1,360 a month. For a foreign hire, the employer contribution figure is zero, but work pass costs (not priced here) come in instead. Model your own figures in the cost calculator for international hires or rank Singapore against other markets in the country cost index.

EOR or a Singapore company of your own

With employer CPF at 17% and no cost at all for foreign staff, the EOR fee is the biggest controllable line here: USD 7,188 a year at $599, against SGD 8,698.73 of CPF for a local hire. So the fee is a bigger share of the total here than in a high-contribution country such as Brazil. We have not priced Singapore company formation; our entity versus EOR guide shows the break-even math.

Contractors in Singapore

A contractor relationship skips CPF, which only saves money for citizen and PR workers. The risk is a contractor who is in practice an employee: the Employment Act protections and CPF become due. Real freelancers can be paid through contractor management platforms; a contractor of record costs $325 a month at Remote or $400 at Multiplier on annual billing (checked October 2026) and takes on the classification review.

Which provider for a Singapore hire

Multiplier is our top-scored EOR at 79/100 (how we score): $459 a month if billed annually, $499 if monthly, with a deposit it calculates from employment costs, fees and notice periods. Singapore's statutory notice, at most 4 weeks when the contract is silent, is one of those inputs. Oyster scores 64/100 and charges $699, with a deposit of at least one month of total service cost under its terms (its pricing page, in the fee table, gives no amount) and 30 days' notice to end the agreement.

Before you sign, confirm the provider applies the 2026 SGD 8,000 ceiling and the right age band. Reviews of each provider's terms: Oyster, Deel and Remote; the EOR rankings show everyone else. Hiring in the region too? See Malaysia EOR costs and Hong Kong.