Wage Credit Scheme payout to employers will be made in March

SINGAPORE -Another Wage Credit Scheme payout will be made in March, and employers have to make CPF contributions for their employees so that they can receive the payout, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Monday.

To receive the payout, employers have to make the full CPF contributions for eligible Singaporean employees by Jan 14.

To qualify, employers must have given their Singaporean employees a wage increase of at least $50 in 2015, and or have sustained the wage increases of at least $50 given to employees in 2014 and 2013.

Eligible employers will receive letters from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore by March 2016 informing them of the Wage Credit Scheme payout they will be given.

The payouts will be credited directly into the employers' bank accounts or issued as cheques to employers.

The Wage Credit Scheme is part of the Transition Support Package announced in the 2013 Singapore Budget. The scheme helps businesses cope with rising wage costs.

It co-funds 40 per cent of the wage increases given to Singaporean employees earning a gross monthly wage of $4,000 and below.

To give businesses more time to adjust to rising wages, the Government has extended the scheme for two more years, till 2017.

Wage increases will be co-funded at 20per cent for the two additional years.

This article was first published on January 4, 2016.
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