Why is there a need for the government to recover the excess Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) paid to workers?

The Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme supports lower-wage Singaporean workers’ income and retirement savings via cash and CPF contributions. To ensure that the WIS scheme remains fair, the excess WIS (both the cash and CPF portions) will be recovered from future WIS payment(s) that the worker may receive.

For fraudulent cases, the recovery will be carried out immediately after the worker’s conviction or before conviction if the worker offered restitution in writing. Cash refund in lieu of CPF will be required if there are insufficient balances in the worker’s CPF accounts. Interest accrued on the outstanding cash amount may also be recovered. The worker will be issued a Notice to Attend Court if the WIS payments are not refunded.

This information provided here is sourced from the CPF website.