29 Dec 2025
SOURCE: CPF Board
Topping up your CPF savings is a wise step towards your desired retirement lifestyle and payouts. But what about your healthcare needs besides retirement?
Let’s take a look at why you should consider making top-ups to your MediSave Account (MA) as well, to prepare you for the years ahead.
Your MediSave savings are meant for medical expenses, including:
Hospitalisation
Approved medical insurance premiums (including MediShield Life, Integrated Shield Plans (IP) and ElderShield)
Outpatient treatments such as vaccinations and health screenings
Long-term treatments such as rehabilitation and palliative care
You can use your MediSave savings not only for yourself, but for your family members as well. Your MediSave savings can also be used at all public healthcare institutions and participating medical institutions. As your MA is there to help you with healthcare expenses, it’s important to ensure you have enough savings in there for when the unexpected occurs.
There is a maximum amount you can set aside in your MA, which is the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS). The BHS is the estimated savings you need in your MA for your basic subsidised healthcare needs in old age. It is also adjusted annually to keep pace with the expected growth in MediSave use, thereby ensuring it will stay relevant for each cohort when they reach retirement age. When you reach 65 years of age, your BHS will be fixed for the rest of your life.
1. Boost your MediSave Account savings
Healthcare costs tend to rise as we age, making it essential to build up sufficient medical savings early. Topping up your MA helps ensure you're financially prepared for future healthcare needs without having to dip into your cash savings or retirement funds when medical expenses arise.
Your MediSave savings earn a risk-free interest rate of 4% per annum, which is higher than most savings accounts. This means your top-ups grow steadily year after year, compounding to build a more substantial savings account for when you need it most.
By making top-ups to your MA, you can give your healthcare savings a boost and allow it to grow faster.
2. Pay your health insurance premiums
Preparing for unexpected circumstances isn’t the only reason you should top up. Besides using your MA for hospital bills or outpatient appointments, it can also pay for your health insurance premiums. Topping up your MA ensures that you have sufficient savings to pay for the premiums of MediShield Life and the higher premiums of optional IPs.
The same applies to CareShield Life, which is a national long-term care insurance scheme meant to provide basic financial support in the event that you develop severe disability. It covers you for life even after you complete your premium payments, and these premiums can be paid fully using your MediSave savings from the time you join till you are 67 years old.
3. Enjoy tax relief each calendar year
An additional benefit of topping up is tax relief. You can enjoy tax relief of up to $16,000 each calendar year for top-ups made to yourself or your loved ones. This is capped at $8,000 for yourself and another $8,000 for cash top-ups to your loved ones. This tax relief cap is shared across top-ups to Special/Retirement Account or MA.
Loved ones refer to parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, spouse and siblings. To qualify for tax relief for cash top-ups made to your spouse or siblings, the recipient must not have an annual income exceeding $8,000 in the preceding year, or be a person with disability.
If you’d like to make a top-up to your own or your loved ones’ MA, you can do so via the Top up MediSave Account page. To complete the form, you will simply need the recipient’s NRIC number, and your banking app, payment app or authentication token. As top-ups are irreversible, consider your financial situation and needs before proceeding.
To adequately prepare yourself for any healthcare expenses that might come your way, it’s important to maintain your MediSave savings in your MA. By topping up your MediSave savings, you’re building greater peace of mind for your future healthcare needs.
The information provided in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
