Employee benefits cost in Singapore: how to read the numbers

What do Singapore SMEs pay each year?

These are yearly estimates from the insurers’ published SME package rates that our calculator uses: 7 insurers, a standard plan level, a typical mix of employee ages and GST included. The rate sheets date from March 2025 to August 2026. Your own premium depends on your team’s ages, the plan level and the insurer, so use the table as a range to plan around, not a quote.

The spread is the point. For the same team and plan level, the most expensive insurer’s estimate is roughly twice the cheapest: about 1.9 times for hospital and GP cover, and about 2.2 times for hospital cover alone. Comparing is free with Bene, because insurers pay our commission only when you buy through us.

• Get a range for your exact team
• Request exact quotes

Your own cost per insured

Your cost per insured person is total annual premium divided by the number of insured employees. State both parts clearly, and keep them on the same basis across plans.

Labelled illustration: an annual premium of S$12,000 across 20 insured employees works out to S$600 per employee per year. This is arithmetic to show the method, not a price estimate, market rate or benchmark, and it uses no real quotation.

Costs that sit beyond the premium

• Dependants: if they can be covered, they are usually priced separately and may be paid for by the employee; check the basis.
• Deductibles and co-payments: identify amounts the employer or employee must pay when treatment is claimed, alongside the premium.
• Administration or service fees: some arrangements charge separately for administration, so ask what the premium does and does not include.
• Uninsured items: wellness programmes, workplace events and workshops are separate from insured benefits and priced by their providers, not by the insurer.
• Same period and headcount: compare every item over the same period and against the same insured headcount.

Ask for one standardised premium basis

• Ask whether applicable taxes and policy fees are included in the figure.
• Ask what period the premium covers and how many insured lives it assumes.
• Ask what benefit levels and ward class the price reflects.
• Ask what would change if benefits changed mid-term.
• Ask how the renewal figure is derived from the claims experience.

What actually moves the number

• Age mix: an older group usually costs more to cover.
• Occupation class: manual or higher-risk roles price differently from office roles.
• Plan level and ward class: private-hospital cover generally costs more than restructured-hospital cover.
• Panel and cost sharing: panels and co-payments can change both price and use.
• Class structure: adding benefit classes adds cost and administration.

Underwriting basis is not uniform

The reviewed Income Insurance source describes portfolio underwriting, where rates reflect its whole portfolio rather than one employer's claims.

SourcesIncome Insurance

The calculator gives an indicative scenario estimate

The ballpark calculator on this site is built from published insurer brochure rates and the plan mappings we maintain in our pricing data. It gives an indicative scenario estimate only: it has not been revalidated field by field against every current brochure, it does not reflect your group's underwriting, and it should not be treated as a quotation. Replace its range with a current quotation before you rely on a figure.

What should you work on next?

Choose the next resource for the decision you need to make.

• Normalise the quotation inputs
• Explain cost changes at renewal

Are all medical benefits fully tax-deductible?

Do not assume so. IRAS sets a corporate medical-expense deduction cap generally based on 1% of employee remuneration, with a higher 2% cap for qualifying arrangements and conditions. Ask the company’s tax adviser to assess the actual scheme and expense categories; this is separate from the quoted insurance premium.

SourcesInland Revenue Authority of Singapore