At the Budget announcement on Feb 12, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the EP minimum qualifying salary for non-financial services and financial services sectors will respectively increase from $5,600 to $6,000 and $6,200 to $6,600. The corresponding increases for the S Pass are $3,300 to $3,600 and $3,800 to $4,000 respectively.
Rising Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass qualifying salaries and a higher Local Qualifying Salary may be “painful” to companies grappling with high business costs according to OCBC Group Research.
However, OCBC and other industry observers believe that these policy changes and other measures announced at Budget 2026 may push firms to improve productivity and move up the value chain.
