CPFB | Quick Facts on Housing, Withdrawals and CPF LIFE

CPF Clarifies - Quick Facts on Housing, Withdrawals and CPF LIFE (19 October 2018)

You may have come across articles giving you misleading information about CPF. Here are some quick facts to help you separate fact from fallacy.

Sale of House Financed with CPF Savings

To restore your CPF for your retirement needs, you need to refund what you have withdrawn to pay for the property, the interest these savings would have earned as well as the pledged amount, if any, when you sell your house.
If you sold your house for less than what you need to refund to your CPF, you do not need to top up the difference, as long as the house is sold at market value. And if you buy another house, you can use your CPF savings again.
For members above age 55, the refund will be used to meet your Full Retirement Sum (FRS) in your Retirement Account to provide you with higher monthly payouts in retirement. Any balance will be paid to you in cash within 7 days. If you prefer to get your money faster, you can put in a request to CPFB to refund only up to your FRS.

Withdrawals of CPF Savings from Age 55

From age 55, you can withdraw up to $5,000 unconditionally and any remaining Ordinary and Special accounts savings after setting aside your Full Retirement Sum.
If you own a property, you can withdraw the Retirement Account (RA) savings above your Basic Retirement Sum in a lump sum.
In addition, if you are born in 1958 or after, you have the option to withdraw up to 20% of your RA savings when you reach your payout eligibility age. This includes the first $5,000 that you can withdraw at age 55.

CPF LIFE

A life annuity, CPF LIFE provides you with a monthly income for as long as you live. You will automatically be included in CPF LIFE if you are born in 1958 or after, with at least $60,000 in your Retirement Account six months before your payout eligibility age.
You can choose from three CPF LIFE plans to meet your retirement needs – Standard, Basic and Escalating plans. If you do not decide on a plan by 70 years old, you will be placed on the Standard plan which provides you with the highest initial monthly payouts among the three plans.
CPF LIFE is actuarially fair and works through risk-pooling. This means that interest earned on the annuity premium is shared amongst all members to form part of their monthly payouts.
When a member leaves the CPF LIFE Scheme or passes away, the Board will refund the unused premium. CPF Board does not keep any of the interest earned. Instead, it is pooled and used to ensure that remaining CPF LIFE members continue to get monthly payouts for as long as they live.