You can set aside $20k in your OA when buying a flat, which acts as an emergency buffer to cover housing instalments in times of need. 

Members who had used their CPF savings to pay for their property can choose to make a voluntary housing refund of the amount withdrawn. Members can refund any amount, capped at the full principal amount they had withdrawn for the property, with accrued interest. Generally, the refund will be made to members’ CPF Ordinary Account. 

If you did not use your CPF savings for property, it would have grown with interest in your CPF account and go towards supporting your retirement needs. 

Thus, when you use your CPF savings for your property and subsequently sell it, you should refund the amount used with interest so that you can enjoy a higher level of retirement payout.

Members do not have to top up in cash if they sold their property at market value and the selling price was not enough to fully refund the CPF savings used plus interest. However, they would have less CPF for their next property or for retirement.

Part of the net sales proceeds are used to top up members’ CPF LIFE, boosting payouts by an average of $500 no matter how long they live. The rest of it goes to them in cash. In addition, each household receives cash bonus of up to $30,000 from the Government