Budget 2026: More support for lower-wage, mid-career and older workers
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Employers of Singaporean workers aged 60 and above will receive more support from the Government.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
SINGAPORE - Local lower-wage, mid-career, and older workers are expected to benefit from a series of measures announced in the Budget statement on Feb 12.
The Local Qualifying Salary, which sets the minimum salary that local employees must be paid in firms that hire foreign workers, will be raised from $1,600 to $1,800 in 2026.
The move will strengthen the support for lower-wage workers, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget statement
Firms will get more help to defray some of the higher wage cost. Under the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS), the Government will increase its co-funding of salary increases for 2026 from 20 per cent to 30 per cent. The scheme will also be extended for two more years, until 2028.
From 2027, the Government is raising the minimum wage increase to qualify for PWCS support from $100 to $200. This will better encourage and reward the firms that invest in their workers, noted PM Wong.
Lower-wage workers will also benefit from the enhancement of the basic tier of Workfare Skills Support to encourage upskilling, and the hourly allowance will be increased for workers who upgrade their skills.
PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said these measures build on the Progressive Wage Model to uplift workers.
He added: “Over the past decade, we have made good progress – with broad-based wage increases and smaller income gaps. These improvements did not happen by chance. Left entirely to market forces, they would not have occurred on their own.”
Besides the support for lower-wage workers, PM Wong also announced measures to strengthen support for mid-career workers and seniors.
Mid-career workers will benefit from the enhancement of the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme
“Over 60,000 Singaporeans aged 40 and above have already benefited from substantial training courses,” PM Wong said of the programme.
He cited the example of former flight attendant Jeffrey Loh, who successfully made a career transition.
Mr Loh wanted to pursue new opportunities and enrolled in a three-month digital product management course at the Singapore Institute of Technology.
He received the mid-career training allowance and had most of his course fees offset by SkillsFuture subsidies and credits. He is now a duty terminal manager at Changi Airport Group.
To help senior employees continue contributing meaningfully, they will get help to plan ahead for later-stage careers and receive support in refreshing their skills.
Employers of Singaporean workers aged 60 and above will receive more support from the Government. The Senior Employment Credit (SEC), which helps defray the wage costs for employers of these older Singaporeans
“We will also equip employers to design age-friendly jobs and multi-generational workplaces,” PM Wong said, adding that the Ministry of Manpower will release its recommendations later in 2026.
He noted that MOM has convened a Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment to study these issues.
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