Home Team Sign-On Bonus & Salary 2026: SPF, SCDF, ICA, CNB, SPS
Thinking of signing on with the Police, SCDF, ICA, CNB or the Prison Service? In 2026, the Home Team pays direct-entry officers a one-time sign-on bonus of S$15,000 to S$35,000, on top of your starting salary. The biggest one goes to a new Police Sergeant. Here's what each agency pays, how the bonus reaches your bank in two parts, how the bond works, and what the money is really worth once tax and the bond are counted.
How much does each Home Team agency pay in 2026?
Join as a direct-entry officer and you'll get a one-time sign-on bonus of S$15,000 to S$35,000. How much depends on the agency and the scheme.
The Home Team is five agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs. They're the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). The other two are the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and the Singapore Prison Service (SPS).
Each one has two ways in. The senior scheme starts you as an Inspector or Lieutenant, and usually needs a degree. The junior scheme starts you as a Sergeant, with a diploma, A-Levels or O-Levels.
Two things before you read the table. You get the bonus once, as a lump sum. It almost always comes in two parts: some when you're appointed, and the rest once you're confirmed or posted out after training.
Also, the highest salaries (SCDF Lieutenant, CNB and ICA Inspector) already include monthly frontline or operational allowances. So they aren't a fair match for a plain basic salary.
| Agency | Senior scheme: bonus / salary | Junior scheme: bonus / salary |
|---|---|---|
| Police (SPF) | Inspector: S$20,000 / up to S$6,704 | Sergeant: S$35,000 / up to S$3,860 |
| SCDF | Lieutenant: S$15,000 / S$5,821 to S$6,997 | Sergeant: S$30,000 / S$2,940 to S$4,370 |
| ICA | Inspector: S$15,000 / S$5,037 to S$5,757 | Sergeant: S$30,000 / about S$2,120 to S$3,103 |
| CNB | Inspector: S$15,000 / S$5,171 to S$5,797 | Sergeant: S$30,000 / S$2,290 to S$3,170 |
| Prison (SPS) | Senior Prison Officer: S$15,000 / S$5,070 to S$6,200 | Prison Officer: S$30,000 / S$2,250 to S$3,339 |
How much do the Police pay an Inspector or a Sergeant?
A new Police Sergeant gets S$35,000, the biggest junior-scheme bonus in the Home Team. A new Inspector, the degree route, gets S$20,000.
Both are paid in two parts, and the first comes when you're appointed. The second comes when your service is confirmed, or for a Sergeant, when you're posted out after training.
What will you earn each month? Police pay is given as a ceiling rather than a band. An Inspector starts at up to S$6,704 a month and a Sergeant at up to S$3,860, both including allowance.
Where you land under that ceiling depends on your qualifications, your relevant work experience and whether you've finished full-time National Service.
To apply, men need PES A or B1, and everyone needs normal colour vision. The Inspector route also needs a bachelor's degree.
- Inspector: S$20,000 bonus in two parts, up to S$6,704 a month, degree needed.
- Sergeant: S$35,000 bonus, up to S$3,860 a month, and pre-enlistees can serve their NS as regulars on full salary.
- Both bonuses come with eligibility rules and conditions, which your contract sets out.
Why does an SCDF Lieutenant earn the most?
An SCDF Lieutenant starts on S$5,821 to S$6,997 a month, the highest frontline pay in the Home Team.
Why so high? That range already includes monthly frontline allowances for Fire and Rescue and Paramedic officers. The bonus is smaller, though: S$15,000, paid once you're posted to your first unit and subject to eligibility.
The junior route works the other way round. A Sergeant (Fire and Rescue Specialist or Paramedic) gets a S$30,000 bonus, in line with the other junior schemes.
A Fire and Rescue Specialist starts on S$2,940 to S$4,370 a month with frontline allowances included. Where you land depends on your qualifications, your NS status and the allowances a frontline rotation adds.
Haven't done NS yet? You can join the Sergeant scheme on a Minimum Term of Engagement. That's a five-year contract that replaces your NS, and its two-year training bond runs at the same time.
- Lieutenant: S$15,000 bonus, S$5,821 to S$6,997 a month with frontline allowances.
- Sergeant: S$30,000 bonus, S$2,940 to S$4,370 a month with frontline allowances.
- The Lieutenant's high top end includes allowances. So compare it with other agencies' pay plus allowances, rather than their basic pay.
What do ICA, CNB and the Prison Service pay?
ICA, CNB and the Prison Service pay almost the same: S$15,000 for the senior scheme and S$30,000 for the junior one.
How each one splits it differs a little. That matters for your cash flow, because you don't see the full sum until you've passed probation.
As an ICA Sergeant, you get S$12,000 when you sign and S$18,000 when you're confirmed after a one-year probation. An Inspector gets S$5,000 on signing and S$10,000 on confirmation. To keep the bonus, you sign a three-year bond from the date you're appointed.
An ICA Inspector with First or Second Upper Class Honours starts on S$5,037 to S$5,757 a month. A Sergeant starts on S$2,200 to S$3,193, depending on whether you hold a diploma, A-Levels or O-Levels.
CNB pays an eligible Inspector S$15,000, with pay of S$5,171 to S$5,797 a month. A Sergeant gets S$30,000 and S$2,290 to S$3,170 a month.
Both CNB schemes carry a two-year training bond that starts after training. Training is nine months, live-in, for an Inspector and six months for a Sergeant.
The Prison Service pays a Prison Officer S$30,000: S$12,000 when you're appointed and S$18,000 on confirmation. With a diploma or A-Levels, you start on S$2,801 to S$3,339 a month. If you hold a Higher Nitec, Nitec or O-Levels, it's S$2,250 to S$2,604.
A Senior Prison Officer gets S$15,000 (S$5,000 on appointment, S$10,000 on confirmation). The estimated starting pay is S$5,070 to S$6,200 a month for a fresh graduate who has done NS.
Both Prison Service schemes carry a two-year bond after training. That's the 30-week Prison Officer Course, or the 38-week Senior Prison Officer Course.
| Agency / scheme | Sign-on bonus and tranches | Gross monthly starting salary | Bond |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICA Direct-Entry Sergeant | S$30,000 (S$12k sign + S$18k confirm) | S$2,200 to S$3,193 | 3 years |
| ICA Direct-Entry Inspector | S$15,000 (S$5k sign + S$10k confirm) | S$5,037 to S$5,757 | 3 years |
| CNB Direct-Entry Sergeant | S$30,000 (eligibility-based) | S$2,290 to S$3,170 | 2-year training bond |
| CNB Direct-Entry Inspector | S$15,000 (eligibility-based) | S$5,171 to S$5,797 | 2-year training bond |
| SPS Prison Officer | S$30,000 (S$12k appoint + S$18k confirm) | S$2,250 to S$3,339 | 2 years |
| SPS Senior Prison Officer | S$15,000 (S$5k appoint + S$10k confirm) | S$5,070 to S$6,200 | 2 years |
The catch: why don't you get the whole bonus on day one?
The headline number isn't what lands in your account when you sign.
Every Home Team agency pays the bonus in two parts and ties it to a service bond. The first part comes when you're appointed. The second comes only once you're confirmed or posted out, which is usually several months to over a year in.
Leave before confirmation and you may never see the second part at all.
The bond is the part most new officers underestimate. ICA's three-year bond is the longest. CNB, the Prison Service and the SCDF Sergeant scheme run two-year bonds, often starting only after training ends.
So read the recovery clause in your contract before you sign. This one paragraph can turn a windfall into a debt the moment you change your mind.
- The usual split: about S$5,000 to S$12,000 on signing, and the bigger part on confirmation.
- Confirmation usually comes after about a year of probation plus your training course. Training runs six to nine months, or 30 to 38 weeks at the Prison Service.
- Bonds run from two years (CNB, the Prison Service, the SCDF Sergeant) to three years (ICA). Police Sergeants who join before NS serve five years as regulars, on their own terms.
- Resign before your bond ends and you usually pay back a scaled-down share of the bonus, sometimes plus training costs.
Is the sign-on bonus taxed, and do you still get CPF?
Yes, the sign-on bonus is taxed. It's employment income, just like your salary.
It counts towards your income for the Year of Assessment in which you're paid, so it goes on your tax return. What you actually pay depends on your total income that year and your tax bracket.
The first S$20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%. So if your first-year salary is modest, you may pay little or nothing on the bonus itself. Run your own numbers in the income tax calculator instead of guessing at a flat cut.
Do you still get CPF? Yes. Uniformed officers get full CPF contributions like any other employee, so money still goes into your Ordinary Account and your other CPF accounts each month.
INVEST comes on top of that. It's a separate retirement account for uniformed officers, and the next section covers its rates.
One more thing about the bonus: the headline figure is before tax. What you keep is the bonus minus that year's tax, paid in two parts months apart. Leave S$30,000 sitting in a current account and inflation slowly eats into it.
What is INVEST, and how much does it add?
On top of CPF, the Home Team pays into INVEST, a retirement account just for uniformed officers.
Each month, your agency credits a share of your gross salary into it. The money is invested, and you can take out the full sum when you retire. The rate depends on your scheme, not your age, which is the opposite of how CPF works.
Senior-scheme officers get more. In the Police, it's 13.25% of gross salary for an Inspector and 7.75% for a Sergeant, credited monthly from your first year. The credits stop at age 57.
The Prison Service and CNB use the same 13.25% and 7.75% rates, but their credits start from your fifth year of service. SCDF uses the same two rates for its Lieutenants and Sergeants.
Think of it as a hidden pay rise. Say you're an Inspector earning S$5,500 a month. That's about S$729 a month (13.25% of S$5,500) going into INVEST, and it comes on top of your take-home pay.
INVEST is real retirement money, but it's locked away and tied to your scheme. So it shouldn't replace your own investing.
Weighing a Home Team offer against a private-sector job? Count INVEST as part of your total pay. Then see how it fits with any investing plan you build on the side.
| Scheme grade | INVEST rate (of gross salary) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Senior (Inspector / Lieutenant / Senior Prison Officer) | 13.25% | Credited monthly; Police cease at age 57 |
| Junior (Sergeant / Prison Officer) | 7.75% | SPS and CNB start crediting from the 5th year of service |
What about training, NS and the payouts that come later?
You're paid your full salary from day one of training, so the course counts as paid working time.
Training is live-in. It runs longer on the senior route. The Police run nine months for an Inspector and six months for a Sergeant. CNB does the same at the Home Team Academy, and its two-year bond starts after that.
The Prison Service runs a 30-week Prison Officer Course at the Home Team Academy, followed by its two-year bond.
Haven't enlisted yet? If you're a man about to start NS, you can serve your full-time NS as a Police Sergeant, as a regular, for five years. You'd draw a full salary and benefits instead of an NSF allowance. Apply about three months before your enlistment date.
SCDF has a similar route on its Sergeant scheme, under the Minimum Term of Engagement. For an 18-year-old, a regular salary plus a sign-on bonus instead of NSF pay is a big difference, and an easy one to miss.
Then there are the payouts that come later. The Police pay a Strategic Payment Scheme on top of salary: a cash payout of about three months' salary in your 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 20th and 25th year of service.
That's a lump sum every few years. It changes the sums on staying versus leaving the day your bond ends, so count it before you treat the sign-on bonus as the only windfall.
- Inspector training is about nine months, live-in. Sergeant training is about six months, and the Prison Officer Course is 30 weeks. All of it is on full salary.
- Police pre-enlistees can serve NS as a five-year regular Sergeant on full pay instead of an NSF allowance. Apply about three months before you enlist.
- The Police Strategic Payment Scheme pays about three months' salary in years 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 20 and 25, money that the sign-on bonus doesn't show.
Quick maths: what is the bonus worth per year of bond?
A sign-on bonus isn't free money. It pays you for years of service you've promised, so the fair way to value it is per year of bond.
Say you join ICA as a Sergeant. The S$30,000 bonus comes with a three-year bond. That's S$10,000 for each year you're locked in.
A Police Sergeant's S$35,000 is bigger up front, but it comes with its own terms of service.
If you'd happily serve those years anyway, the bonus is a real top-up. If the bond keeps you from a job you'd rather take, divide the bonus by the bond years. Then compare that with what you could earn outside.
Next, decide what the money does once both parts land. Leave it in the bank and inflation eats into it, so treat it as a head start instead.
Here's a sensible order for most young officers. Keep three to six months of spending as an emergency fund, and clear any high-interest debt. Then put the rest to work over the long years you have ahead.
- Build or top up your emergency fund first. A high-interest savings account or a Singapore Savings Bond keeps it safe and easy to reach. See the best savings accounts roundup.
- Clear any high-interest debt before you invest. Paying off a card balance saves you its full interest rate, which no investment can promise.
- Think about a CPF top-up for the tax relief and the steady interest, if you won't need the cash soon.
- Invest the rest for the long run. A low-cost index fund or ETF puts the bonus to work instead of leaving it idle. Start with how to start investing in Singapore.
How does Home Team pay compare with the SAF and civil service?
The Home Team isn't the only uniformed employer paying sign-on bonuses.
The SAF pays S$20,000 for an Officer and S$35,000 for a Specialist or Warrant Officer. It adds its own SAVER and Premium retirement bonus schemes on top. The wider civil service has its own salary scales, with a pay review each year.
So if you're weighing offers, compare the whole package as well as the bonus. Pay rises, the Annual Wage Supplement (about one month's pay at year-end), the performance bonus, allowances and the bond length all change what you earn over a career.
A bigger bonus with a longer bond isn't always better. A smaller bonus with faster pay rises and a shorter bond can come out ahead.
- Compare the military side in the SAF sign-on bonus and starting salary guide.
- See how the wider public sector pays and promotes in the civil service salary guide.
- Check how your offer stacks up against Singapore's median income figures.
The MoneyBees take: what we'd check first
We'd work out what the bonus is worth per year of bond first. A S$30,000 bonus on a three-year bond is S$10,000 a year, and leaving early usually means paying back a scaled-down share. The trade-off is time: a bigger bonus can come with a longer bond, while a smaller one may leave you freer to move. Monthly pay, INVEST and the Police payouts every few years belong in the sum too.
What settles it is whether you'd stay for the whole bond even without the bonus.
Before you go: what should you check before you sign?
The bonus is tempting, but the bond runs for years and the payback terms are real. Go through these before you sign.
- Get your exact bonus and starting salary in writing, for your scheme, qualifications and NS status. The published ceilings are wide, so confirm your own offer.
- Read the bond length and the early-exit clause. Work out the bonus per year of bond, and what you'd pay back if you left halfway.
- Check the payment schedule: how much on signing, how much on confirmation, and when confirmation really happens after training.
- Ask whether the higher salary includes frontline or operational allowances that depend on staying in a frontline role.
- Plan the bonus before it lands. Decide how much goes to your emergency fund, debt, CPF and investing, so it doesn't get spent by default.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Home Team sign-on bonus in 2026?
It depends on the agency and scheme. The Police pay S$20,000 for a Direct-Entry Inspector and S$35,000 for a Direct-Entry Sergeant. ICA, CNB and the Prison Service pay S$15,000 for the senior scheme and S$30,000 for the junior one. SCDF pays S$15,000 for a Lieutenant and S$30,000 for a Sergeant. Eligibility rules apply to all of them.
Which Home Team agency pays the highest sign-on bonus?
The Singapore Police Force. Its S$35,000 bonus for a Direct-Entry Sergeant is the biggest single bonus in the Home Team. A Police Inspector gets S$20,000. ICA, CNB, the Prison Service and SCDF all top out at S$30,000, for their junior schemes.
Is the Home Team sign-on bonus paid all at once?
No. Every agency pays it in two parts. You get some when you're appointed and the rest on confirmation or emplacement, usually after about a year of probation plus your training. ICA and the Prison Service, for example, pay their S$30,000 junior bonus as S$12,000 first and S$18,000 on confirmation. Leave before confirmation and you may not get the second part.
Do I have to repay the sign-on bonus if I leave early?
Usually, yes. Each scheme has a service bond: two years for CNB, the Prison Service and the SCDF Sergeant scheme, and three years for ICA. Leave before it ends and you'll typically pay back a scaled-down share of the bonus, sometimes with training costs too. The exact formula is in your contract, so read the early-exit clause closely.
Is the Home Team sign-on bonus taxable?
Yes. A sign-on bonus is employment income for the Year of Assessment in which it's paid, so it goes on your tax return. Your tax depends on your total income and your bracket. The first S$20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%, so a low first-year salary can mean little or no tax on the bonus.
What is the starting salary for a Direct-Entry Inspector?
It depends on the agency. A Police Direct-Entry Inspector starts at up to S$6,704 a month with allowance included. An ICA Inspector starts at S$5,037 to S$5,757, and a CNB Inspector at S$5,171 to S$5,797. Where you land depends on your degree class, relevant work experience and whether you've finished National Service.
Does SCDF really pay more than the Police?
On salary, yes. On the bonus, no. An SCDF Direct-Entry Lieutenant earns S$5,821 to S$6,997 a month, the highest frontline starting range in the Home Team, because it already includes monthly frontline allowances. But the SCDF Lieutenant bonus is S$15,000, against S$20,000 for a Police Inspector, and the high pay depends on staying in a frontline role.
Do Home Team officers get CPF?
Yes. Uniformed Home Team officers get full CPF contributions, like any other employee. INVEST comes on top: a separate retirement account that gets a fixed share of your gross salary each month. That's 13.25% for senior-scheme officers like Inspectors and Lieutenants, and 7.75% for Sergeants and Prison Officers. In the Police, the credits stop at age 57.
How long is Home Team training, and do you get paid during it?
Yes, you're paid your full salary throughout. The Police run a nine-month live-in course for a Direct-Entry Inspector and six months for a Sergeant. CNB matches that at the Home Team Academy. The Prison Service runs a 30-week Prison Officer Course. Your service bond usually starts only after training ends.
Can I serve National Service in the Home Team and get paid as a regular?
Yes, if you join before you enlist. As a male pre-enlistee, you can serve your full-time NS as a Police Direct-Entry Sergeant, as a regular, for five years. You draw full salary and benefits instead of an NSF allowance, plus the sign-on bonus. Apply about three months before your enlistment date. SCDF has a similar route on its Sergeant scheme.
What are the Police retention payouts on top of salary?
The Singapore Police Force runs a Strategic Payment Scheme. It pays a cash lump sum of about three months' salary in your 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 20th and 25th year of service. That's on top of your monthly pay and the sign-on bonus, so it's retention money the headline bonus doesn't show. Other agencies have their own retention payouts, so check the terms for your scheme.
Sources
- Singapore Police Force - Direct Entry-Inspector (bonus and salary)
- Singapore Police Force - Direct Entry-Sergeant
- Central Narcotics Bureau - Narcotics Officer (Inspector and Sergeant)
- Singapore Prison Service - Prison Officer (bonus and salary)
- SCDF - Direct-Entry Lieutenant career page
- ICA Officer (Direct-Entry Sergeant) - Careers@Gov listing
- IRAS - Individual income tax rates (first $20,000 chargeable income at 0%)
- MHA - Second Reading speech on the Home Affairs Uniformed Services Superannuation (Amendment) Bill (INVEST on top of full CPF)
Keep exploring
- SAF Sign-On Bonus and Starting Salary 2026: Army, Navy, RSAF
- Additional Wage Ceiling 2026: How Much CPF Your Bonus Attracts
- Singapore Police Rank Structure 2026: Ranks, Insignia and Pay
- Civil service salary in Singapore: pay, bonus and the 2026 pay rise
- Singapore salary calculator (take-home + CPF)
- Singapore income tax calculator
- CPF contribution calculator
- CPF contribution on bonus calculator
- SRS vs CPF Top Up
- Emergency Fund
- CPF OA
- Chargeable Income
- Inflation
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).