We have made changes to the CPF (Amendment) Bill to legislate the ceasing of non-residents’ participation in CPF schemes and streamline the administration of CPF schemes for better service delivery to residents.

Here is a summary of the changes:

Closure of non-residents’ (non-Singapore Citizens and non-Permanent Residents) CPF accounts

The core purpose of the CPF system is to support the retirement, housing and healthcare needs of residents. In line with this, non-residents’ participation in CPF schemes will cease from 1 April 2024.

Non-residents have to transfer their CPF savings to their bank accounts by 1 April 2024, failing which their CPF accounts will be automatically closed, and any remaining savings will cease to earn the prevailing CPF interest rate. The remaining savings can still be transferred to their bank accounts at any time after that.

This was first announced in March 2023 and CPF Board is now making the necessary legislative amendments to support the automatic closure of CPF accounts. Non-residents may also refer to CPF website at cpf.gov.sg/AccountClosure for more details.

Streamlining the administration of CPF schemes to improve service delivery

To align with industry practices for wills and intestate distribution of assets, the Board will allow nominees and beneficiaries under the relevant intestacy laws to access deceased members’ CPF information, with effect from February 2024. Members no longer need to explicitly authorise the Board to disclose their CPF information to these individuals upon their demise.

This enables nominees and beneficiaries under the relevant intestacy laws to settle post-demise matters relating to the deceased members’ CPF accounts with greater ease and transparency.

Members can be assured that their CPF information remains private and confidential while they are alive. Members may refer to cpf.gov.sg/NOMFAQ for more details.

In addition, with the amendment, the Board may continue with certain transactions, which typically arise or follow from obligations preceding the member’s demise. These include monies due to the member (e.g. refund of CareShield Life premiums to member’s MediSave account after death) or payments due to third parties (e.g. refunds to employers if there were excess CPF contributions made).

Notices and service methods

For greater convenience, members will be able to receive more documents from CPF Board electronically. This includes selected hardcopy notifications such as the Notice of Contributions issued to self-employed persons. Members can still request for hardcopy notifications should they prefer.

To align with the legislation governing other public sector agencies, changes to the Notice to Attend Court document can now be made without having to amend the subsidiary legislation. A sample copy of the “Notice to Attend Court” document will be made available on the Board’s website so that members of public can easily access and verify the legitimacy of any notice served.