Singapore Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) & Skills Support Guide 2026

Statutory Overview & Government Framework

The **Workfare Income Supplement (WIS)** is a Government support scheme that supplements the income and CPF savings of lower-wage Singaporean workers. For Work Year 2026, eligible employees, self-employed persons and platform workers generally need to be Singapore Citizens who are **30 or older as at 31 December of the work year**, or persons with disabilities of any age, with monthly/average income of no more than **S$3,000**, and who satisfy the property and other household conditions. The normal employee income floor is **S$500 per month**, although persons with disabilities, eligible ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance recipients and qualifying caregivers can receive **concessionary WIS below S$500**. For employees, the enhanced WIS maximums are **S$2,450 for ages 30–34, S$3,500 for 35–44, S$4,200 for 45–59 and S$4,900 for age 60 and above**, with persons with disabilities receiving the age-60-and-above quantum. Employee WIS is paid **40% in cash and 60% as CPF contributions**, while self-employed persons and platform workers receive WIS on the self-employed structure of **10% cash and 90% MediSave**. Employees and platform workers receive WIS monthly, generally two months after the month worked; self-employed persons receive WIS annually after declaring net trade income to IRAS and making the required MediSave contributions. Workfare Skills Support (WSS) is a separate training-support programme. From **1 July 2026**, eligible self-sponsoring lower-wage workers can receive **S$10.50 per training hour** under WSS (Basic), capped at 180 training hours in the WSS eligibility period. WSS (Basic) also provides a Training Commitment Award of up to **S$800 from 1 July 2026**, while employers can receive Absentee Payroll of up to **95% of the trainee's hourly basic salary, capped at S$13 per hour**. Long-form trainees may instead be covered under WSS (Level-Up), which has its own Training Allowance rules.

1. What WIS Is and Who It Covers in 2026

The **Workfare Income Supplement (WIS)** is designed to supplement the income of lower-wage Singaporean workers while increasing their CPF savings. The scheme covers three main work-status groups: **employees, self-employed persons (SEPs) and platform workers**. The payment structure and timing differ substantially between these groups, so a single 'WIS payout rule' is not sufficient for a 2026 guide.

For the main WIS route, the worker must be a **Singapore Citizen** and must be at least **30 years old as at 31 December of the work year**, or be a person with disabilities of any age. The normal income ceiling is **S$3,000**, and the employee/platform-worker tests use monthly and average-income rules. The worker must also live in a property with Annual Value of **S$21,000 or less**, own no more than one property, and satisfy the additional spouse/property conditions where married.

WIS is not an unemployment payment. A person must actually be working to receive WIS. Employees are assessed using income declared by employers where CPF contributions are made, SEPs using declared Net Trade Income, and platform workers using their declared platform-work earnings. The scheme therefore rewards current participation in work and CPF/MediSave saving rather than simply being unemployed or having low household income.

2. 2026 Employee WIS: Maximum Annual Amounts by Age

For eligible employees, the enhanced WIS maximums in the current framework are **S$2,450 for ages 30–34, S$3,500 for ages 35–44, S$4,200 for ages 45–59 and S$4,900 for age 60 and above**. Persons with disabilities receive the same maximum quantum as workers aged 60 and above. The actual amount is lower when earnings are below the level associated with the maximum WIS amount.

WIS is not an all-or-nothing annual payment. Employees receive their entitlement **monthly**, and the amount depends on the worker's age and income for each month worked. A person who works only part of a year therefore does not simply receive the full annual maximum. The CPF Board's 2026 calculator is the correct way to estimate a person's actual monthly amount.

The annual maximum figures are useful benchmarks, but an individual worker's actual WIS can differ because the CPF Board assesses actual income and eligibility month by month. Bonuses, overtime, commissions and other additional wages can affect the gross-wage calculation.

3. Employee WIS: The 40% Cash / 60% CPF Split

Eligible employees receive WIS through two channels. **40% is paid in cash** and **60% is credited as CPF contributions**. The cash portion is designed to supplement current income, while the CPF component builds savings for retirement and healthcare. It is therefore incorrect to describe the full WIS amount as a cash benefit deposited into a bank account.

For example, if an employee's total WIS for a particular period were S$1,000, the normal employee allocation would be **S$400 cash and S$600 CPF contributions**. The CPF portion is then distributed among the relevant CPF accounts according to the worker's age-based WIS CPF allocation rates. The exact account distribution is not simply 'all into MediSave'.

For workers aged 55 and above, CPF allocation can involve the Retirement Account as applicable. For younger workers, allocations are made among the OA, MediSave and Special Account under the published WIS allocation schedule. This matters when comparing WIS with ordinary salary payments because the CPF part is not immediately available as unrestricted cash.

4. Employee WIS Income Rules: S$500–S$3,000 and Concessionary WIS

For ordinary employee WIS eligibility, the employee must generally earn at least **S$500 in gross monthly income** for the month worked and not more than **S$3,000**, and must have average gross monthly income of not more than S$3,000 over the applicable previous 12-month period. Gross income includes basic salary as well as extra wages such as **overtime pay, commissions and bonuses**.

The S$500 minimum is not absolute. **Persons with disabilities, workers who qualify for ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance and qualifying caregivers of care recipients** can qualify for concessionary WIS even when their monthly income is below S$500. The concessionary WIS payment is a separate flat age-based amount rather than the normal income-tiered WIS calculation.

For Work Years from 2025 onward, employee concessionary WIS payments are **S$53 per month for ages 30–34, S$79 for ages 35–44, S$131 for ages 45–59 and S$152 for age 60 and above and persons with disabilities**. SEPs and platform workers receive two-thirds of the employee concessionary WIS amounts.

5. WIS Rules for Self-Employed Persons and Platform Workers

Self-employed persons and platform workers have different WIS mechanics from employees. A self-employed person must declare **Net Trade Income (NTI)** to IRAS and make the required MediSave contributions in full before the WIS payment can be released. The WIS amount is then paid annually for the previous Work Year, rather than monthly like ordinary employee WIS.

From 2025, eligible platform workers receive WIS **monthly**, reflecting the move to CPF contributions being deducted from platform-worker earnings and submitted to CPF Board by platform operators. For Work Years 2025 through 2028, platform workers receive WIS at the same maximum level as self-employed persons rather than the higher employee quantum. Eligible platform workers who later have fully aligned mandatory CPF contribution rates with employees can receive higher WIS from 2029 under the transition rules.

The current self-employed/platform-worker WIS maximums are lower than the employee maximums because their WIS CPF allocation is structured differently. For the current 2025–2028 platform-worker/SEP framework, the maximum annual amounts are approximately **S$1,633 for ages 30–34, S$2,333 for 35–44, S$2,800 for 45–59 and S$3,267 for age 60 and above**, with persons with disabilities receiving the age-60-and-above amount.

6. WIS Payment Timing in 2026: Employees, SEPs and Platform Workers

Employees and platform workers generally receive WIS **two months after the month worked**. For example, WIS for January work is paid at the end of March through PayNow-NRIC or bank crediting, or during the first week of April through GovCash. This means the original statement that WIS is paid on the 15th of the following month is incorrect.

Self-employed persons are treated differently. An SEP receives WIS **once a year for the previous Work Year**. To receive the earliest payment by the end of April of the following year, the SEP must generally declare NTI to IRAS and make the required MediSave contributions in full by **31 March**. If the declaration or MediSave payment is completed later, the WIS payment follows after the required contributions are made.

Cash benefits are paid by **PayNow-NRIC by default**, followed by a registered bank account and then GovCash where no bank account is available. The CPF portion is credited separately. Workers should therefore keep the PayNow-NRIC link and Government bank details current rather than assuming that WIS always arrives through one payment channel.

7. Property, Spouse and Annual Value Rules

The WIS property test is separate from the income test. The worker must live in a property with **Annual Value of S$21,000 or less**, assessed as at 31 December of the preceding year, and must own no more than one property. For a married person, the worker and spouse together must not own more than one property.

For married workers, there is an additional spouse-income rule: the spouse's **Assessable Income must not exceed S$70,000 for the preceding Year of Assessment**. Property ownership includes different types of property, such as an HDB flat, private property and non-residential property. The WIS rules therefore go beyond checking whether the worker is a low-paid employee.

The property Annual Value threshold is not a rental payment. It is the **IRAS-assessed Annual Value**, broadly reflecting the estimated gross annual rent of the property if rented out without furniture, furnishings and maintenance fees. A person should therefore use the official IRAS property information rather than estimating AV from actual rent.

8. Workfare Skills Support (WSS) Basic in 2026

Workfare Skills Support (WSS) is separate from the cash-and-CPF WIS payment. **WSS (Basic)** encourages lower-wage workers to take eligible short training that improves employability. SSG's current 2026 guidance states that self-sponsoring trainees can receive a **Training Allowance of S$10.50 per training hour from 1 July 2026**, capped at **180 training hours per WSS eligibility period**.

The WSS Basic support package also includes a **Training Commitment Award (TCA)**. The award is up to **S$800 from 1 July 2026**, subject to the applicable qualification/course-completion rules. Employers who sponsor eligible employees can separately receive **Absentee Payroll of up to 95% of the trainee's hourly basic salary, capped at S$13 per hour** for eligible WSS courses.

The old S$6 per-hour training allowance should therefore not be used as the current rate for courses starting from July 2026. There is also no universal S$500 WSS cash allowance. WSS Basic's current package is based on training-hour allowance, Training Commitment Award and employer Absentee Payroll.

9. WSS Level-Up: Long-Form Training and the Separate Training Allowance

WSS also has a **Level-Up** component for lower-wage workers taking long-form training that leads to stronger employment outcomes. It supports programmes such as **SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme courses, Nitec, Higher Nitec, diplomas, post-diplomas and undergraduate programmes at Institutes of Higher Learning**, subject to the programme's specific eligibility.

For eligible full-time Level-Up training, the training allowance follows the Mid-Career Training Allowance framework: **50% of the trainee's average earned monthly income over the latest available 12-month period**, with a minimum of **S$300 per month** and applicable maximum limits under the Level-Up rules. For eligible part-time Level-Up training, the allowance is **S$300 per month**. Applications for Level-Up training allowance opened from February 2026 for training starting from 1 March 2026.

This is different from WSS Basic's hourly S$10.50 allowance. A worker should first identify whether the selected course is a **short WSS Basic course or a long-form WSS Level-Up programme**. The two pathways use different course categories, funding structures and allowance calculations.

10. How WIS and WSS Work Together Without Being the Same Benefit

WIS and WSS address different needs. **WIS** provides income and CPF support for eligible lower-wage work, while **WSS** provides training-related support to encourage skills upgrading. A worker can potentially benefit from both programmes when the relevant employment and training conditions are met, but the two payments should not be added together automatically.

For example, an eligible 45-year-old employee can receive WIS based on monthly employment income while also taking an eligible WSS course. If the person self-sponsors a qualifying WSS Basic course beginning after 1 July 2026, the training allowance can be calculated separately at S$10.50 per training hour, up to the applicable cap. If the person instead enters a WSS Level-Up programme, the longer-form monthly allowance rules apply.

The amount of WSS course support also depends on the type of course. WSS is not simply '95% course fee subsidy'. The **95% figure relates to employer Absentee Payroll** for eligible sponsored workers, while self-sponsored trainees receive the relevant training allowance and Training Commitment Award under WSS Basic.

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