Sum is 23% more than 2015’s figure, with much of the money owed being late contributions

 A record S$635.1 million in Central Provident Fund (CPF) arrears owed to more than 380,000 workers was recovered last year, with the bulk of it being late contributions.

After heavier penalties kicked in in 2014, the amount of CPF arrears had dipped from S$420 million to S$378.2 million, although only for a year.

In 2015, S$516 million in CPF arrears was clawed back from employers — the largest sum since figures were made public in 2012.

Last year’s quantum was 23 per cent higher, marking a new record.

In a press release on Monday (June 5), the CPF Board said 32 employers voluntarily owned up last year that they had not complied with the CPF Act and had gone about rectifying their mistake.

In total, they were responsible for about S$1 million in CPF payments due to some 800 employees.

The largest amount of S$400,000 recovered from these firms involved an unnamed employer in the financial sector, which came forward in March last year to say it had wrongly classified 180 employees’ incentives payments.

It classified these payments as Ordinary Wages, which have a lower CPF ceiling, when it should have classified them as Additional Wages.

The vast majority of CPF arrears, amounting to S$615.4 million owed to more than 363,000 workers, comprised late contributions.

About 5,440 employers were tardy each month, but most of them made up the payments within a month.

The remaining S$19.7 million recovered related to cases of underpayment or non-payment by 1,608 employers to more than 16,200 employees.

Last year, there were 22 convictions for non-payment and underpayment of CPF, and 350 convictions for late payment.

All the convicted employers were fined and ordered to pay the CPF arrears by the State Courts.

In comparison, 36 employers were taken to court and convicted for non-payment and underpayment of CPF in 2015, down from 46 in 2014. There were 237 convictions for late payment, slightly more than the 223 cases in the year before.

In its release, the CPF Board reminded employers to fulfil their CPF obligations to their employees and urged workers to check their CPF accounts regularly.

Those who wish to report non-payment or underpayment of CPF contributions, or non-compliance with the Employment Act, can call 1800-221-9922 or email [email protected].

The CPF Board cited a case in which an unidentified person said in March 2015 that a restaurant was not paying CPF to its part-time employees. When approached, the employer said he was not aware that he needed to pay CPF to part-time workers.

The CPF Board came up with an instalment plan for the employer to give back about S$50,000 in CPF contributions due to 118 employees from January 2013 to March 2015.

The group director of Employer Collections and Enforcement at the CPF Board, Ms Belinda Teoh, said: “We will continue to increase awareness among employers of their duty and responsibility to meet their CPF obligations so as to help members meet their retirement, housing and healthcare needs.”

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by TODAY ONLINE

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]