About Workfare

Introduced in 2007, the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme is a broad-based measure that tops up the salaries of our lower-income workers and helps them save for retirement.

Workfare Factsheet (English) (160KB)
Workfare Factsheet (Chinese) (276KB)
Workfare Factsheet (Malay) (160KB)
Workfare Factsheet (Tamil) (832KB)

Intent of Workfare

Workfare payouts are targeted at lower-income workers with less household support, with higher payouts for older workers. Workfare can comprise up to an extra 30 per cent of the worker's monthly income.

For example

From 2020, a 65-year-old worker earning $1,200 a month would receive $333 more through Workfare monthly, of which $200 goes into his Central Provident Fund (CPF).

Workfare and Progressive Wage Model (PWM)

Workfare and Progressive Wage Model (PWM), together with many other support measures, have uplifted low-wage workers while keeping employment levels high and unemployment levels low. They are a clear expression of our social solidarity and by no means inferior to a minimum wage.

- 7 November 2018
- Minister for Manpower, Josephine Teo's Op-Ed on Workfare
- 18 December 2018
- MOM's Letter on Workfare

Workfare, The Fourth Pillar of Singapore's Social Security System

Outcomes of Workfare

- Minister of State for Manpower, Zaqy Mohamad's Speech on Workfare
- MTI's Study on Workfare
- Workfare has been one of the most effective schemes in encouraging work, especially for older workers. A Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) study done in 2014 found that WIS led to an increase in employment rates of up to 7.3 percentage points, with the highest increases seen among older workers.