The S Pass qualifying salary in Singapore is S$3,300 a month for most sectors and S$3,800 for financial services, and both have applied to new applications since 1 September 2025 and to renewals of passes expiring from 1 September 2026 [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/eligibility]. From 1 January 2027 the floors rise to S$3,600 and S$4,000 for new applications, with renewals following for passes expiring from 1 January 2028 [https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf].
Those are the base numbers for a candidate aged 23 or younger. Your own floor depends on your age and your employer's sector, so read on for the full table, kababayan.
The 2026 qualifying salary
MOM pegs the S Pass salary to the top one-third of local Associate Professionals and Technicians (APTs) by age [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/eligibility]. Two sectors, two floors:
Sector
Base floor (age 23 or below)
Applies to
All sectors except financial services
S$3,300
New applications from 1 Sep 2025; renewals of passes expiring from 1 Sep 2026
Financial services
S$3,800
Same dates
Source: MOM S Pass eligibility page and the Budget 2026 factsheet, Annex B Table 2 [https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf].
The renewal date matters more than most kababayans realise. If your pass expired in, say, June 2026, your renewal ran against the older S$3,150 base [https://www.mom.gov.sg/maintenance/passes-and-permits/s-pass/upcoming-changes-to-s-pass-eligibility]. A pass expiring in October 2026 renews against S$3,300. Same job, same age, different floor, because the calendar moved.
One correction to our earlier coverage. Our 2027 article said the S Pass minimum "rises to S$3,800 in September 2026". That is wrong. S$3,800 is the financial services floor. September 2026 is only the date renewals caught up to the S$3,300 general floor. MOM's table is the one to trust.
The age ladder
The base floor is the bottom rung. MOM raises the requirement every year of age from 24 to 45, where it tops out. Age 45 and above is the top of the ladder: nothing climbs further after that. All figures are fixed monthly salary in Singapore dollars.
Age
General, now
General, from 1 Jan 2027
Financial services, now
Financial services, from 1 Jan 2027
23 or below
3,300
3,600
3,800
4,000
24
3,368
3,668
3,884
4,075
25
3,436
3,736
3,968
4,150
26
3,505
3,805
4,052
4,225
27
3,573
3,873
4,136
4,300
28
3,641
3,941
4,220
4,375
29
3,709
4,009
4,305
4,450
30
3,777
4,077
4,389
4,525
31
3,845
4,145
4,473
4,600
32
3,914
4,214
4,557
4,675
33
3,982
4,282
4,641
4,750
34
4,050
4,350
4,725
4,825
35
4,118
4,418
4,809
4,900
36
4,186
4,486
4,893
4,975
37
4,255
4,555
4,977
5,050
38
4,323
4,623
5,061
5,125
39
4,391
4,691
5,145
5,200
40
4,459
4,759
5,230
5,275
41
4,527
4,827
5,314
5,350
42
4,595
4,895
5,398
5,425
43
4,664
4,964
5,482
5,500
44
4,732
5,032
5,566
5,575
45 or above
4,800
5,100
5,650
5,650
Source for every row: MOM S Pass eligibility page, age-based tables [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/eligibility]. The top-of-ladder figures also appear in the Budget 2026 factsheet [https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf].
Two things stand out. In general sectors every row rises by exactly S$300 in 2027. In financial services the ladder flattens: the base rises S$200, but the age-45 ceiling stays at S$5,650, so a 44-year-old gains only S$9.
MOM's age is your age at the time of application or renewal, so a birthday between now and your renewal date pushes you one rung higher. Use the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) with your employer before filing; MOM says an "eligible" result carries around a 90% chance of approval, and a "not eligible" result means the application will be rejected [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/eligibility].
What is coming in 2027
Everything below comes from MOM's Committee of Supply 2026 factsheet dated 3 March 2026 [https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf]:
General sectors: base rises from S$3,300 to S$3,600, top of ladder from S$4,800 to S$5,100.
Financial services: base rises from S$3,800 to S$4,000, top of ladder unchanged at S$5,650.
New applications from 1 January 2027. Renewals for passes expiring from 1 January 2028.
MOM states the S Pass minimum "is expected to be around $4,000 - $4,500 by around 2030". No date or step schedule beyond 2027 has been announced.
Levy changes for 2027 or 2028: not yet announced for the S Pass. The factsheet's 2028 levy changes cover Work Permit holders only.
What counts as fixed monthly salary
MOM's formula is short: fixed monthly salary = basic monthly salary + fixed monthly allowances [https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/employment-pass/what-is-a-fixed-monthly-salary].
Counts:
Basic salary that does not change month to month, whatever your performance or leave taken.
Fixed monthly allowances paid at the same amount every month, such as a fixed housing or food allowance.
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Does not count:
Variable allowances.
Overtime pay.
Bonuses, commission and AWS (13th month).
Board fees, stock options, dividends.
In-kind benefits (a company room, free meals) and reimbursements.
Productivity incentives, employer pension or provident fund contributions, gratuity.
So a kababayan on S$3,200 basic plus S$400 overtime and a S$300 fixed transport allowance has a fixed monthly salary of S$3,500. The overtime drops out; the fixed allowance stays in.
Quota, levy and the dependency ratio ceiling
Your salary clearing the floor is necessary but not enough. Three employer-side limits decide whether a company can sponsor you at all.
Quota (sub-DRC). S Pass holders may make up at most 10% of a services company's total workforce and 15% in construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/quota-and-levy/levy-and-quota-requirements]. A 20-person restaurant has room for two S Pass holders. If both slots are filled, the employer cannot add you no matter what they pay.
Local Qualifying Salary. The quota is computed from local headcount, and a local only counts as a full head if paid at least the LQS of S$1,800 a month; S$900 to below S$1,800 counts as half [https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/progressive-wage-model/local-qualifying-salary]. Employers who underpay locals shrink their own foreign quota.
Levy. Every S Pass costs the employer S$650 a month, harmonised across sectors and tiers since 1 September 2025; the daily rate is S$21.37 for partial months [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/quota-and-levy/levy-and-quota-requirements]. On a S$3,300 salary the levy is a 20% surcharge. MOM designs it this way: the "cost of hiring an S Pass holder, i.e., qualifying salary plus levy" is what it benchmarks [https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf].
When an employer says "we cannot sponsor", it is usually one of these three, not your CV.
S Pass vs Work Permit vs Employment Pass
Work Permit
S Pass
Employment Pass
Who it is for
Semi-skilled workers in construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard, process, services
Skilled APTs
Professionals, managers, executives
Minimum salary now
None set by MOM [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/key-facts]; S$2,000 for Non-Traditional Source occupation-list hires [factsheet]
Filipinos count as a Non-Traditional Source for Work Permits, which limits WP hiring to the NTS Occupation List at S$2,000 minimum and an 8% sub-DRC; MOM adds eight food services, social services and air transport occupations from September 2026 [https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf]. UNVERIFIED on 4 October 2026: MOM's live NTS country list page could not be fetched; confirm at mom.gov.sg/ntsol.
A second correction. Our 2027 article said the Work Permit maximum employment age rises to 63 (65 for existing holders) in September 2026. MOM's Work Permit key facts page today states "below 62 years old when applying" and does not give those figures. Treat the 63/65 claim as UNVERIFIED until MOM publishes it.
Renewal timeline and what to do if your pay is under the floor
Your employer can file the renewal up to 6 months (180 days) before expiry, and MOM gives no grace period: miss the date and it becomes a fresh application [https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/renew-a-pass]. A fresh application filed on or after 1 January 2027 runs against the new table even if your old pass was issued under the old one.
Work backwards from your expiry date:
Pass expiring before 1 January 2028. Renewal uses the current table. Find your age on the renewal date in the "now" column.
Pass expiring from 1 January 2028. Renewal uses the 2027 column. Add S$300 to your current general-sector floor.
Changing jobs any time from 1 January 2027. The new employer files a new application, so the 2027 column applies immediately.
If your fixed monthly salary sits below the number you land on, you have three honest routes. Ask your employer to move part of your variable pay into basic or a fixed allowance; the total cost to them may not change, but the MOM figure does. Ask for a raise timed before the renewal filing, with the MOM table printed out. Or, if the company is at quota or will not budge, start the job search early enough that a new employer can file before your pass lapses. Six months is the window; do not wait for the last one.
Do not let anyone talk you into paper salaries. An employer who declares S$3,600 and pays S$3,000 is committing an offence, and the worker loses the pass when it surfaces.
Sources
Date checked: 4 October 2026. Several mom.gov.sg paths returned 404 or 403 during checking; where that happened the figure was taken from the MOM Budget 2026 factsheet or the mom.gov.sg/maintenance mirror and is noted below.
MOM, S Pass eligibility and age-based salary tables: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/eligibility
MOM, S Pass key facts: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/key-facts
MOM, Factsheet on foreign workforce policy announcements at COS 2026 (3 March 2026), Annex B Table 2: https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2026/factsheet-on-foreign-workforce-policies-03032026.pdf
MOM, Upcoming changes to S Pass eligibility (September 2025 round; fetched via the maintenance mirror): https://www.mom.gov.sg/maintenance/passes-and-permits/s-pass/upcoming-changes-to-s-pass-eligibility
MOM, S Pass levy and quota requirements: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/quota-and-levy/levy-and-quota-requirements
MOM, Local Qualifying Salary: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/progressive-wage-model/local-qualifying-salary
MOM, What is a fixed monthly salary: https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/employment-pass/what-is-a-fixed-monthly-salary
MOM, Renew an S Pass: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/s-pass/renew-a-pass
filipinos.sg, EP and S Pass salary increase 2027: https://www.filipinos.sg/article/ep-s-pass-salary-increase-2027-filipino-professionals-singapore
Frequently asked questions
What is the S Pass minimum salary in 2026?+
S$3,300 a month in fixed monthly salary for most sectors, and S$3,800 in financial services. That is the floor for a candidate aged 23 or younger. The figure climbs with age up to S$4,800 (S$5,650 in financial services) at 45 and above.
When does the S$3,600 S Pass salary start?+
New S Pass applications submitted from 1 January 2027 must meet S$3,600 (S$4,000 in financial services). Renewals move to the new floor for passes expiring from 1 January 2028.
Does my allowance count toward the S Pass salary?+
Only if it is fixed and paid every month at the same amount, such as a fixed housing or food allowance. Variable allowances, overtime, bonuses, commission and AWS do not count.
I am 35 and earn S$4,000. Am I safe?+
On today's table, no: age 35 needs S$4,118 in general sectors, so you are S$118 short. Run the Self-Assessment Tool with your employer to confirm. From 2027 the age-35 floor becomes S$4,418.
Can my S Pass be renewed if I earn below the new floor?+
Renewals of passes expiring before 1 January 2028 use the current table (S$3,300 base). Passes expiring from that date must meet the S$3,600 base. If your pay is short, your employer must raise it before the renewal or the application will fail.
Why would an employer refuse to sponsor an S Pass?+
S Pass holders are capped at 10% of a services company's workforce and 15% in construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process. Each S Pass also costs the employer a S$650 monthly levy on top of your salary.
What is the S Pass salary at age 45?+
S$4,800 a month in general sectors and S$5,650 in financial services on the current table. From 1 January 2027 the general figure becomes S$5,100; financial services stays at S$5,650.
How early can my employer renew my S Pass?+
Up to 6 months (180 days) before the pass expires. There is no grace period; a missed deadline means a fresh application under whichever table applies on that date.
