Financial Impact on and Assistance for Platform Workers Ineligible for CPF Transition Support Scheme

Ms Elysa Chen asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) given the year-on-year increase for their own CPF contribution share, whether the Government has assessed the financial impact on platform workers earning above $3,000 monthly who are ineligible for the Platform Workers CPF Transition Support scheme; and (b) whether there are plans to assist this group of platform workers to adapt to the increase in the CPF contribution share.

While platform workers who are mandated to, or opt in to, make increased Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions will see lower take-home pay, they benefit from additional CPF contributions from platform operators and an increase in total earnings.

To help such platform workers adjust, their increase in CPF contribution rates is phased in over five years, with the year-on-year increase for the platform workers' share being no higher than 2.5 percentage points. For lower-income platform workers who have less disposable income for basic needs, the Platform Workers CPF Transition Support Scheme (PCTS) provides targeted monthly cash support to offset part of the increases. Platform workers earning above $3,000 monthly are assessed to be better placed to manage the transition. Hence, there are currently no plans to expand PCTS to cover them.