3 Oct 2025
SOURCE: CPF Board
Your CPF savings are accumulated into three accounts – Ordinary (OA), MediSave (MA), and the Retirement (RA) or Special (SA), depending on your age.
Each account has its own specific purpose, with the MA being mainly used for hospitalisation expenses and approved medical insurance.
But did you know that there’s a limit on how much goes into your MA? Read on to find out more about the Basic Healthcare Sum.
What is the Basic Healthcare Sum?
The Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) is the estimated savings you require in your MA for your basic subsidised healthcare needs in old age. It is also the maximum amount of savings you can have in your MA.
What is the BHS that applies to me?
If you are under 65 years old, the BHS will be adjusted each year to account for the anticipated increase in MediSave use from rising healthcare costs and expansion of uses for each cohort and to ensure it remains applicable when you reach retirement.
Once you reach the age of 65, your BHS will be fixed for the rest of your life.
Visit the Basic Healthcare Sum page to learn more about the latest BHS that applies to you.
Why is there a Basic Healthcare Sum?
The BHS cap and overflow arrangement prevents over-saving in your MA and serves as a way to supplement your retirement savings.
This is because any excess in the MA after reaching the BHS would go to your SA/RA or OA, depending on your age and whether you've set aside the Full Retirement Sum.
What happens when the savings in your MediSave Account reaches the BHS?
1. Excess contribution flows to SA or RA
If you have set aside our BHS, any excess contributions to your MA will flow to:
Your SA if you are below 55 years old
- Your RA if you are 55 years old and above
2. Flow to OA when Full Retirement Sum is exceeded
If your SA or RA exceeds the Full Retirement Sum, excess MediSave contributions will instead flow to your OA.
How to top up MediSave Account to the Basic Healthcare Sum
You can make voluntary contributions to your MediSave Account to grow your healthcare savings and use them to pay premiums for MediShield Life/Integrated Shield plans, CareShield Life/ElderShield, and CareShield Life/ElderShield Life Supplement plans.
To get started, visit the top up MediSave Account page. Take note that top-ups are irreversible and cannot be refunded.
Setting aside the Basic Healthcare Sum with your MediSave savings
The Basic Healthcare Sum helps ensure that you will have enough for your medical and retirement needs.
Any MediSave contributions above the Basic Healthcare Sum will be directed to your other CPF accounts depending on your age and CPF savings.
For more healthcare-related articles, check out these key life stages to review your healthcare insurance coverage. You can also stay updated with the latest developments on CareShield Life to learn more about long-term care planning.
The information provided in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
