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Written Answer by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on Payment of CPF Contributions and Workfare Income Supplement to Prison Inmates and Disabled Adults

Employment practices

Notice Paper No. 186 Of 2016 For The Sitting On 11 July 2016
Question No. 316 For Oral Answer

MP: Mr Desmond Choo

To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry mandates the payment of CPF contributions and Workfare Income Supplement to (i) prison inmates who undergo in-prison training to get them ready for work as well as those who undergo work programmes in prison; and (ii) disabled adults at organisations like the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore who do work for social enterprise programmes.

Answer

  1. In general, all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents are required to make CPF contributions if they earn an income from two categories of work in Singapore.
    1. The first category refers to those who are working under Contracts of Service, where there is an employee-employer relationship, and who earn more than $50 per month.
    2. The second category refers to those who are Self-Employed Persons and whose net trade income is more than $6,000 per year.
  2. CPF contributions are mandated for persons with disabilities who do work for social enterprise programmes if the work arrangements fall under the two categories above. For example, the centres run by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) currently enable the training of persons with disabilities in social enterprises. There is no employer-employee relationship between MINDS and the person with disabilities. CPF contributions are not required to be made by or on behalf of these persons with disabilities.
  3. Work programmes in prison are part of the overall inmate rehabilitation programme. The work programmes serve to keep the inmates meaningfully occupied during their prison term, and prepare inmates for employment upon their release. Participation in such work programme is voluntary and inmates can ask to cease participation at any time. Prison inmates do not work under a Contract of Service, and there is no employer-employee relationship between the Government and the inmate. CPF contributions are not required to be made by or on behalf of these prison inmates.
  4. The Workfare Income Supplement, or WIS, supplements the income and CPF savings of eligible Singaporeans aged 35 and above. This age criterion for WIS is waived for persons with disabilities.
  5. Persons with disabilities can qualify for WIS if they make the necessary CPF contributions in line with their work arrangements. Prison inmates who participate in work programmes can likewise qualify for WIS if they make the necessary contributions to their CPF Medisave accounts.