SINGAPORE: A man has turned to social media after discovering that his elderly relative, a woman in her 70s who has a walking disability, has no CPF savings.
In a post shared on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Friday (Jan 2), he revealed that his relative has been working full-time at the same small shop in the heartlands for over 50 years, earning less than S$1,000 a month.
“The boss did not top up a cent to her CPF, and she basically has zero retirement funds to fall back on—not even Medisave,” he wrote, adding that he only discovered the issue when he suggested she see a doctor after she fell at work.
He explained further: “Apparently, when she first started working there over 50 years ago, she didn’t sign a contract with the employer, so that arrangement has just continued since. We are outraged that it seems the employer took advantage of her naïveté and that she never questioned this. She has minimal education (up to Secondary 1) and is illiterate in English, unable to read or understand it.”
Although the man wishes to seek justice, his relative is reluctant to create conflict with her employer and would likely not testify if the matter went to court.
“She doesn’t want to make things ugly for the employer, so we may not even be able to get her to testify if it comes to that. FYI, this employer stays in a landed and my relative barely gets by and stays in a shared 4-room HDB with 2 other elderly siblings.”
Nevertheless, the man said he wanted to help in any way he could. “Is there any legal recourse for this? Can we get the employer to pay back the CPF that she was supposed to receive over the past 50 years? Would any legally trained person be able to advise if we have a case before we consult a lawyer?”
He added, “Who should we approach? Should we start with MOM or contact our MP first? Can the law provide any recourse as long as there is proof of monthly wage payments?
“The CPF website says that any wages above S$50 are entitled to CPF. It feels really frustrating because she doesn’t seem to want to pursue this case, but given that she has no CPF, all medical bills will eventually become our burden to bear as well.”
“Have you spoken to the boss to see if he or she is willing to offer some form of compensation?”
In the comments, one individual noted that the case would be difficult to pursue, as the relative had not signed any contract.
“Very tricky approach, but in my opinion, without any written contracts, it’s going to be an uphill battle,” they said. “Maybe the first piece of paper trail to build on will be the salary, provided it’s done through her account. If it’s cash… I really don’t see how to piece any evidence
Another commenter added, “If you are prepared to burn bridges and screw the boss, you can just ask MoM for advice directly. There is no need to involve lawyers.”
A third offered a different perspective, saying, “Devil’s advocate here, but there are plenty of people who want to work outside of CPF and paper trails because it means paying less tax, etc., or whatever other reason they may have, like staying under xx household income to benefit from subsidies, which she may also have enjoyed.”
“So legally grey on both sides, as we don’t know the whole story. My point is it may not be so simple to just demand back pay CPF from the employer without any paper trail and my word vs your word.”
A fourth commenter, meanwhile, suggested approaching the employer first to see if they might be willing to pay the owed amount.
“Have you spoken to the boss to see if he or she is willing to offer some form of compensation? Considering that your relative might not be willing to testify, not sure how strong the case is.”
As stated on the Ministry of Manpower’s website, employers must pay CPF contributions every month for their employees. This applies to Singapore citizens and permanent residents working in Singapore under permanent, part-time, or casual contracts of service. CPF contributions are not needed if the employee is working overseas.
