Payment of CPF Contributions and Workfare Income Supplement to Prison Inmates and Disabled Adults
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Desmond Choo’s inquiry regarding whether CPF contributions and Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) are mandated for prison inmates and disabled adults in social enterprise programs. Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say explained that CPF is required for those under contracts of service or the self-employed meeting income thresholds. He clarified that inmates and disabled adults at organizations like MINDS lack an employer-employee relationship, so CPF is not mandated. WIS eligibility for disabled adults includes an age waiver, while inmates qualify if they make necessary Medisave contributions. Both groups must meet specific CPF contribution criteria to receive the supplement.
Transcript
64 Mr Desmond Choo asked 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.
Mr Lim Swee Say: 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.
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.
The second category refers to those who are Self-Employed Persons and whose net trade income is more than $6,000 per year.
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.
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 programmes 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.
The Workfare Income Supplement (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.
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.