S Pass Minimum Salary 2026: What It Costs vs a Local Hire on CCP

The S Pass minimum salary in 2026 is S$3,300 a month, but only for a candidate aged 23 or below. It climbs with age to S$4,800 at 45 and above, and runs from S$3,800 to S$5,650 in financial services, per MOM's S Pass eligibility page.

Add the S$650 monthly levy and you have the true minimum cost of an S Pass hire. Set that cost against the other option: a Singaporean or PR hired into a new career, whose salary CCP part-funds while they train. For the right role, the first-year gap runs to four or five figures. For the wrong role, it's zero, and we'll say which is which.

Updated 20 October 2026. Every salary and levy figure below was read from MOM's pages on that date; the CCP figures come from SWDA's factsheet and FAQs.

Key takeaways

• MOM benchmarks the S Pass floor against the top third of local associate professional and technician salaries by age, so S$3,300 is the starting point, not the going rate. A 35-year-old needs at least S$4,118.
• The levy is S$650 a month in every sector and tier, per MOM's levy page.
• For new applications from 1 January 2027, and renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028, every age band rises (S$3,600 to S$5,100 outside financial services), per MOM.
• A local on the same salary costs employer CPF instead of a levy. In a genuine career conversion, CCP pays up to 70% of salary (under 40) or 90% (40 and above) during training, per the SWDA CCP factsheet.
• Age 40 is where the sums tilt hardest: the S Pass floor keeps rising and CCP's enhanced band begins.

S Pass minimum salary 2026, by age

MOM pegs the floor to what the best-paid third of local associate professionals and technicians earn at each age, and it has to be met by fixed monthly pay. So the minimum your candidate needs depends on how old they are, and MOM publishes a figure for every year of age from 23 to 45.

Here are the rows most employers ask about, for all sectors except financial services. The figures are MOM's, copied from the eligibility page (last updated 1 September 2026).

Candidate's age	Current minimum	New applications from 1 Jan 2027, renewals of passes expiring from 1 Jan 2028
23 or below	S$3,300	S$3,600
25	S$3,436	S$3,736
30	S$3,777	S$4,077
33	S$3,982	S$4,282
35	S$4,118	S$4,418
40	S$4,459	S$4,759
45 or above	S$4,800	S$5,100

Financial services runs on its own scale on the same MOM page: S$3,800 today, rising with age to S$5,650 at 45 and above. Under the 2027 schedule it starts at S$4,000 and still tops out at S$5,650. If your candidate's age isn't in the table above, the full year-by-year list is on MOM's page.

Many S Pass guides quote S$3,300 and stop there. On MOM's own table, that figure applies only to the youngest band. If you budget an S Pass role at S$3,300 for a candidate in their thirties, the application is priced to fail.

What counts as salary for the S Pass floor?

MOM's wording is a fixed monthly salary. Our reading is that pay which rises and falls with sales doesn't help you clear the floor. So a low basic plus commission can sit below it, even when the total looks generous. If your offer mixes the two, confirm the treatment with MOM before you apply.

The same question comes up when CCP support is worked out on a salary. We looked at how commission is treated there in commission and CCP salary.

What an S Pass hire costs you each month

An S Pass hire costs at least the age-band salary plus S$650. MOM harmonised the levy to S$650 a month across all sectors and levy tiers from 1 September 2025. You owe it from the day the pass is issued until it's cancelled or expires, per the levy page.

No employer CPF is due on an S Pass holder: the CPF Board makes contributions payable for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. So at the floor, the monthly cost is simple.

Candidate's age	Salary floor	Levy	Minimum monthly cost
30	S$3,777	S$650	S$4,427
35	S$4,118	S$650	S$4,768
40	S$4,459	S$650	S$5,109
45 or above	S$4,800	S$650	S$5,450

Those are floors, not budgets. They leave out medical insurance and anything else you'd pay on top, and they assume you pay exactly the minimum. Each S Pass also takes up quota, which we work through in S Pass quota maths.

The same salary on a local hire under CCP

A Singaporean or PR on the same salary costs you employer CPF instead of the levy. From 1 January 2026, the CPF Board sets the employer share at 17% of wages for employees aged 55 and below earning more than S$750 a month.

If that local is moving into a genuinely new career, CCP salary support changes the sum while they train. Under the SWDA factsheet, CCP pays up to 70% of monthly salary, capped at S$5,000, for Citizens and PRs below 40. Mature hires aged 40 and above, and the long-term unemployed, get up to 90%, capped at S$7,500. Support lasts for the training duration, which the SWDA FAQs put at 3 to 6 months.

Here's the side-by-side, holding the salary equal to the S Pass floor at each age. It's our arithmetic on those published rates, rounded to the nearest dollar, and it assumes the full "up to" rate. SWDA doesn't say whether support covers employer CPF, so we leave CPF with you.

Age	S Pass at the floor, per month	Local, same salary + 17% CPF	CCP support per month	Local, net during training
30	S$4,427	S$4,419	S$2,644 (70%)	S$1,775
35	S$4,768	S$4,818	S$2,883 (70%)	S$1,935
40	S$5,109	S$5,217	S$4,013 (90%)	S$1,204
45+	S$5,450	S$5,616	S$4,320 (90%)	S$1,296

Compare the second and third columns and something surprising shows up: once support ends, the local is not cheaper. Above a salary of about S$3,824, the 17% employer CPF is more than the S$650 levy, so at 35 the local runs about S$50 a month dearer, and at 45 about S$166. The saving is concentrated in the training months, and it's large.

Why age 40 changes the sum

At 40, the S Pass floor is still climbing, by about S$68 for each year of age on MOM's table, while CCP support jumps from 70% to 90%. Both move in favour of the local hire. SWDA's enhanced band starts, so CCP pays 90% instead of 70%.

Take a full first year, with salary equal to the S Pass floor:

First 12 months	S Pass (salary + levy)	Local, 3-month CCP	Local, 6-month CCP
Age 35	S$57,216	S$49,169	S$40,521
Age 40	S$61,308	S$50,565	S$38,526

At 35 the local saves you about S$8,000 to S$16,700 in year one. At 40 that becomes about S$10,700 to S$22,800, depending on programme length. Our own fee comes out of that difference, and it isn't hidden: Option A is SGD 4,500 plus a success fee of 1.5% of the approved salary funding, capped at SGD 360, per our pricing page.

Our call: if you're about to pay an S Pass floor for someone aged 40 or older, and the role can be taught in three to six months, price a local conversion hire first. We set out the enhanced band in more detail in the grant for hiring older workers.

One honest limit on this table. It assumes the local earns what the S Pass candidate would. A career converter may command a different market rate, and SWDA requires the pay to be commensurate with the market rate. Run the sum on the salary you'd really offer.

The renewal bump: the floor rises twice

If you already employ an S Pass holder, the 2027 schedule reaches you at renewal. It applies to passes expiring from 1 January 2028, per MOM's eligibility page. MOM benchmarks the floor by age, so on our reading the row that applies is your holder's age at renewal, not their age today. Check it on MOM's Self-Assessment Tool before the renewal.

So the floor moves twice: once for the new schedule, once because your holder is older. Say they're 33 now on the S$3,982 floor in MOM's current column, and their pass expires in 2028, by which time they've turned 35. The floor at renewal is S$4,418, which is S$436 a month more, or S$5,232 a year, before the levy. That's an illustration; plug in your own holder's age and expiry date.

Vendor pages tend to frame renewal as the pass holder's worry. For you it's a budget line, and it's due on a date you already know.

When the S Pass is still the right call

The S Pass wins whenever a local conversion can't do the job in time. Be honest about which side of the line your role sits on.

• You need a specialist now. CCP converts people over months. It won't produce someone with eight years in the trade.
• The local's new role isn't really new to them. For a new hire, SWDA requires the CCP role to be substantially different from their previous roles, per the factsheet. Same job, new title, no support.
• The person is already on your payroll. We handle new hires only, not the redeployment of staff you already employ.
• No Citizen or PR candidate exists for the role. Then the comparison doesn't arise.

MOM itself notes that, with the qualifying salary going up, some employers may move S Pass holders to Work Permits. That's a third route, and outside what we do.

What to do before you make the offer

1. Find your candidate's age and read their row on MOM's table. If you'll file on or after 1 January 2027, use the new column.
2. Add S$650 a month. That's your S Pass floor cost before insurance and extras.
3. Ask one question: could a Singaporean or PR, moving from a different line of work, do this role after three to six months of training?
4. If yes, price the local: salary plus 17% employer CPF, less up to 70% (under 40) or 90% (40 and above) of salary for the training months.
5. Check eligibility before you advertise, then aim to have the approval letter before the start date. A Place-and-Train application must be approved within 3 months of the employment start date, per the SWDA FAQs. In our experience, approval takes 12 to 15 weeks, which can run past that limit, so file well before the start date. We explain why the order matters in the CCP application deadline.
6. For holders whose passes expire from 1 January 2028, put the new floor at their age then into next year's budget now.

Check the local hire before you budget around it

Run our eligibility check against the local you have in mind. It takes about a minute and costs nothing. It checks four things: a Singapore-registered company, a Citizen or PR hire, a basic monthly salary of S$3,000 or more (our own screen, not an SWDA rule), and your timing.

If the role's basic pay alone meets an S Pass floor, it also clears our S$3,000 line. Individual programmes can set their own higher floors, which we list in CCP minimum salary by programme.

Clearing the check opens the payment options. Option A is SGD 4,500 plus the capped success fee, with SGD 2,250 upfront. Option B starts with a SGD 100 consultation, then SGD 2,250, then SGD 2,250 on approval. Both are set out in full on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Is the S Pass minimum salary S$3,300 for everyone?

No. On MOM's eligibility page, S$3,300 is the current floor for candidates aged 23 or below, outside financial services. MOM raises it with each year of age, up to S$4,800 at 45 and above, and financial services starts at S$3,800 and reaches S$5,650. Check your candidate's exact row before you set the offer.

What is the S Pass levy in 2026?

S$650 a month for every S Pass holder. MOM harmonised the rate across all sectors and levy tiers from 1 September 2025, and the liability runs from the day the pass is issued until it's cancelled or expires.

When does the S$3,600 S Pass minimum salary start?

Per MOM, it applies to new applications submitted from 1 January 2027, and to renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028. The S$3,600 figure is the youngest band. Every age band rises with it, up to S$5,100 at 45 and above, and financial services moves to S$4,000 at the start of its scale.

Does a local hire on CCP count towards my S Pass quota?

MOM counts a Citizen or PR towards quota using the Local Qualifying Salary, which is S$1,800 today per its LQS page. Neither MOM nor SWDA says anything specific about CCP hires, so on our reading a conversion hire paid above the LQS counts like any other local. Our S Pass quota article walks through the counting.

About this article. The S Pass salary schedule and the S$650 levy come from MOM's eligibility and levy pages, read on 20 October 2026. The 17% employer CPF rate comes from the CPF Board. Every CCP figure comes from SWDA's CCP factsheet and CCP FAQs. The monthly costs, CCP support amounts, first-year totals, the S$3,824 break-even and the renewal example are our own arithmetic on stated assumptions. The 12 to 15 weeks is our practice's experience, not a published standard. We left out S Pass medical insurance and other non-levy costs.

Qualifying salaries and levies are set by MOM, and CCP rules by SWDA and its Programme Partners. Both change and both are assessed case by case, so confirm your position with MOM, SWDA or a qualified adviser before you commit to a hire. MOM decides every S Pass application and SWDA every CCP application; nothing here implies any influence over either, and nothing here is legal or tax advice. If you're weighing the S Pass minimum salary against a local conversion hire, the eligibility check is the place to start.