SG employee alarmed after company delays CPF contributions for eight straight months

SINGAPORE: Alarmed by the fact that his company has been consistently late with its Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions, one Singaporean employee took to social media to ask locals if “he should be worried” about this and “if this is normal” in other workplaces.

In an anonymous post on the r/smeSingapore forum, the employee revealed that during the eight months he has worked at the company, his CPF contributions have almost always arrived late—sometimes “two to three weeks past the official deadline.”

“I’ve noticed they’re always late, and this month, we’re already 3 weeks past and [there’s] still nothing,” he said.

He also mentioned that when he brought the issue up with HR last month, he never received a clear explanation.

“They just said ‘don’t worry, it will be processed soon’ and gave me some excuse about their accounts department being busy. When I mentioned there’s actually a deadline for employers to pay CPF, they looked annoyed with me,” he wrote.

Looking for some perspective, he asked the Reddit community: “Is this normal in Singapore? Should I be concerned that my company might be having cash flow issues?”

He added, “I’m worried this might be a red flag. I’ve never had this problem at my previous job, where the CPF would come in right on time. Anyone else experienced this before? What should I do — just keep waiting, complain to MOM, or start looking for a new job?”

“Start working on your backup plan.”

In the comments section, many users confirmed his fears. One former SME boss said, “I can confirm there are cash flow issues because I also played these kind of games before. Start finding new job as soon as you can.”

Another individual pointed out, “No, it’s not normal to flout rules set by the government. If cashflow issues worsen, they’d end up paying your salary late as well. Think you’ve given them enough chance (8 months), better find another job.”

A third added, “Defo cash flow issues. Occasionally, for SME still ok; regularly is just problematic. There are some scenarios I have experienced where this is some min-maxing micromanagement of company accounts, but even in those instances, these companies are not ideal employers, so even if you really love the company you’re working for…Start working on your backup plan.”

According to the CPF Board, employers are required to submit CPF contributions by the 14th of the following month, or on the next working day if the 14th happens to be a weekend or public holiday. Missing this deadline may result in a late interest charge of 1.5% per month.

Once the CPF Board receives the payment, the contributions are typically credited to the individual’s CPF accounts within three working days. 

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