MOM Sets Out Initiatives to Help Businesses and Workers Thrive in Changing Economic Landscape

At this year’s Committee of Supply Debate, the Ministry of Manpower (“MOM“) set out its approach to help businesses and workers navigate change and thrive in a rapidly evolving world.  The strategy is built on these three pillars: (i) empowering Singaporeans at every stage of life; (ii) enabling businesses to transform and compete; and (iii) building inclusive workplaces.

The following are the key measures under each pillar.

Empowering Singaporeans at Every Stage of Life

1. Helping workers navigate transitions with confidence: The Government will merge SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) to form a new statutory board, Workforce and Skills Singapore (“WSSG“). WSSG will come under MOM, to be jointly overseen by MOM and the Ministry of Education (MOE). WSSG will bring together the Government’s skills and employment capabilities to deliver more seamless services in career guidance, skills advisory, training, and job‑matching services, to better support workers and employers to navigate a rapidly evolving economy. Pease click here for more information on WSSG.
   
   
2. Unlocking career longevity: To support longer working lives, the retirement age and re-employment age will be raised to 64 and 69, respectively, with effect from 1 July 2026. This was formalised through the Retirement and Re‑employment (Prescribed Minimum Retirement Age) Notification 2026 and the Retirement and Re‑employment (Prescribed Re-employment Age) Notification 2026 issued on 1 April 2026.
   
   The updates to the retirement age and the re-employment age form part of the plan to progressively raise the prescribed minimum retirement age and the prescribed minimum re-employment age to 65 and 70, respectively, by 2030. 
   
   
3. Strengthening retirement adequacy: To support retirement security, the Government will introduce the following measures:

• • Increase in Central Provident Fund (“CPF”) contribution rates: In line with the recommendations of the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers, the CPF contribution rates for senior workers aged above 55 to 60, and those aged above 60 to 65 will be increased by 1.5 and 1 percentage point, respectively, from 2027. The Government will provide employers with a one-year CPF Transition Offset to mitigate the rise in business costs due to this increase.
  • New investment scheme: A new investment scheme to grow CPF savings will be introduced in the first half of 2028. The scheme will provide CPF members with access to simplified, low‑cost life‑cycle investment products offered by commercial providers, for those who wish to take on investment risk for potentially higher returns.
  • Budget CPG Top-up: The Government has introduced the Budget 2026 CPF Top-up to provide additional support to eligible seniors aged 50 and above with lower CPF balances to strengthen their retirement adequacy.

Enabling Businesses to Transform and Compete

1. Future-proofing businesses in the face of technological change: The Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package (“EWTP“) will support employers in transforming their business and workforce to drive productivity-led growth. As part of the EWTP, the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+) (WDG(JR+)) will be launched, offering enhanced funding to support companies for their workforce transformation and job redesign efforts. Under this scheme, eligible enterprises may receive support up to 70% of project costs, capped at S$150,000 per company. Please click here for more details on the EWTP.
   
   
2. Winning the race for global talent: In January 2027, MOM will launch a new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track to strengthen Singapore’s standing as a global artificial intelligence (AI) and tech talent hub. This new track will replace the existing Tech.Pass and provide enhanced recognition for key industry leaders and innovators. This initiative is aimed at attracting and retaining high-quality foreign workforce that complements local workers.
   
   
3. Raising quality and complementarity of foreign workers: The following will be introduced to enhance the quality and complementarity of foreign workers:

• • The levy framework for the Manufacturing and Services sectors and the Marine Shipyard and Process sectors will be streamlined to help businesses better understand and plan their workforce strategies for hiring, training, and retaining Work Permit Holders (WPHs).

• • The Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL) will be expanded from September 2026 by adding eight new occupations in the social services, food services and air transportation sectors.

• • The Employment Pass (EP) minimum qualifying salary will be increased from S$5,600 to S$6,000, and the S Pass minimum qualifying salary will be increased from S$3,300 to S$3,600 to keep pace with local wage benchmarks. These changes will apply to new applications from 1 January 2027 and renewals from 1 January 2028. Additionally, the S Pass minimum qualifying salary is expected to be around S$4,000 – S$4,500 by around 2030.

Building Inclusive Workplaces

MOM will collaborate with the labour movement and trade associations to enhance career pathways for skilled trades workers, who are a vital pillar of Singapore’s workforce. These hands‑on roles offer stable opportunities and will remain essential as the economy evolves.

Click on the following links for more information (available on the MOM website at www.mom.gov.sg):

• MOM Press Release titled “Partnering Businesses And Workers To Thrive In A Changed World”
• Speech By Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng at Ministry of Manpower Committee of Supply 2026