Every Singapore payslip carries a small line item that many employers process on autopilot and few fully understand: the self-help group contribution. Alongside CPF, employers deduct and remit small amounts to one of four community funds, CDAC, MBMF, SINDA, or ECF, depending on the employee’s community. The sums are modest per employee, but the employer’s duty is real, the deadlines are the same as CPF, and getting the bands or the opt-outs wrong creates avoidable payroll errors.
This guide explains, for 2026, what the self-help group funds are, the current contribution rates by wage band, how the employer’s deduction-and-remit duty works, and how employees can opt out or change their fund.
What are the self-help group funds?
Singapore’s four Self-Help Groups (SHGs) provide financial assistance, education, and skills programmes to lower-income households within specific communities. Contributions are made by working members of each community and are channelled to the relevant fund:
- CDAC — Chinese Development Assistance Council, for the Chinese community.
- MBMF — Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund, for the Muslim community.
- SINDA — Singapore Indian Development Association, for the Indian and South Asian community.
- ECF — Eurasian Community Fund, for the Eurasian community.
These contributions are separate from CPF but are collected together with CPF. They apply to employees who are Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Although the contribution is technically the employee’s, the employer is the party legally responsible for deducting it from wages and remitting it.
Contribution rates by wage band (2026)
Each fund sets its own tiered rates, calculated on the employee’s total monthly wages. The tables below reflect the rates applicable in 2026.
CDAC (Chinese community)
| Monthly wages | Monthly contribution |
|---|---|
| ≤ S$2,000 | S$0.50 |
| > S$2,000 to S$3,500 | S$1.00 |
| > S$3,500 to S$5,000 | S$1.50 |
| > S$5,000 to S$7,500 | S$2.00 |
| > S$7,500 | S$3.00 |
MBMF (Muslim community)
| Monthly wages | Monthly contribution |
|---|---|
| ≤ S$1,000 | S$3.00 |
| > S$1,000 to S$2,000 | S$4.50 |
| > S$2,000 to S$3,000 | S$6.50 |
| > S$3,000 to S$4,000 | S$15.00 |
| > S$4,000 to S$6,000 | S$19.50 |
| > S$6,000 to S$8,000 | S$22.00 |
| > S$8,000 to S$10,000 | S$24.00 |
| > S$10,000 | S$26.00 |
SINDA (Indian community)
| Monthly wages | Monthly contribution |
|---|---|
| ≤ S$1,000 | S$1.00 |
| > S$1,000 to S$1,500 | S$3.00 |
| > S$1,500 to S$2,500 | S$5.00 |
| > S$2,500 to S$4,500 | S$7.00 |
| > S$4,500 to S$7,500 | S$9.00 |
| > S$7,500 to S$10,000 | S$12.00 |
| > S$10,000 to S$15,000 | S$18.00 |
| > S$15,000 | S$30.00 |
ECF (Eurasian community)
| Monthly wages | Monthly contribution |
|---|---|
| ≤ S$1,000 | S$2.00 |
| > S$1,000 to S$1,500 | S$4.00 |
| > S$1,500 to S$2,500 | S$6.00 |
| > S$2,500 to S$4,000 | S$9.00 |
| > S$4,000 to S$7,000 | S$12.00 |
| > S$7,000 to S$10,000 | S$16.00 |
| > S$10,000 | S$20.00 |
Rates are set by each fund and can change; always confirm the current figures against the CPF Board’s self-help group page before running payroll.
The employer’s duty: deduct and remit with CPF
The employer deducts the applicable amount from the employee’s wages and remits it together with the monthly CPF contribution. The payment deadline is the 14th of the following month, the same deadline as CPF and the Skills Development Levy. Payment is made through the CPF e-Submission system, which computes the correct fund and amount once the employee’s community is set up correctly.
By default, an employee is assigned to the fund matching their community as recorded with the authorities. Because the deduction is the employee’s money that the employer holds and forwards, accuracy in payroll set-up matters: an employee mapped to the wrong fund, or a band applied incorrectly, produces a remittance error that has to be corrected.
Opting out and changing funds
Self-help group contributions are made on an opt-out basis. An employee who does not wish to contribute, or who wishes to contribute to a different fund, may apply directly to the relevant fund to opt out or switch. The opt-out is the employee’s decision and is exercised with the fund, not with the employer. Until the employer receives confirmation of an opt-out, it should continue to deduct and remit as normal. Employers should keep any opt-out confirmations on file so payroll can be adjusted correctly and the change evidenced.
Common employer errors to avoid
A handful of mistakes account for most self-help group discrepancies. The first is mapping an employee to the wrong fund, which happens when community details are not captured correctly at onboarding; the CPF e-Submission system relies on that mapping to pick the fund and amount. The second is applying the wrong wage band, particularly for staff whose pay fluctuates with commission or overtime, since the contribution follows total monthly wages. The third is stopping a deduction on the strength of a verbal opt-out request before the fund has confirmed it, which leaves a gap in remittances. The fourth is simply missing the 14th-of-the-month deadline, which attracts the same consequences as a late CPF payment. Building these checks into a monthly payroll review, ideally within proper payroll software, removes almost all of the risk.
Where this fits in the payroll picture
Self-help group contributions are one strand of the employer’s monthly statutory obligations, which also include CPF, the Skills Development Levy, and, at year end, income reporting. For the full monthly cycle, see our Singapore payroll and CPF guide, and for annual reporting see our guide to the IR8A Auto-Inclusion Scheme. Getting these small deductions right is part of the same discipline that keeps your tax and ECI filings clean.
Key takeaways
Self-help group contributions, to CDAC, MBMF, SINDA, or ECF, are small, wage-banded amounts the employer deducts from an employee’s pay and remits with CPF by the 14th of the following month. The correct fund follows the employee’s community, the rates rise with monthly wages up to modest caps, and contributions are made on an opt-out basis exercised directly with the fund. The amounts are tiny, but the employer’s compliance duty is not, so set employees up correctly in payroll, apply the right band, keep opt-out confirmations, and check the current CPF Board tables before each payroll run.
— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services