Central Provident Fund (CPF) members will continue to earn interest rates of up to 3.5% per annum on their Ordinary Account (OA) monies, and up to 5% per annum on their Special and Medisave Accounts (SMA) monies in the first quarter of 2018. CPF members will also earn up to 5% per annum on their Retirement Account (RA) monies in 2018. These interest rates include an extra 1% interest paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances (with up to $20,000 from the OA) which is part of the Government’s efforts to enhance the retirement savings of CPF members.
CPF members aged 55 and above will also earn an additional 1% extra interest on the first $30,000 of their combined balances. This is paid over and above the current extra 1% interest that is earned on the first $60,000 of their combined balances. As a result, CPF members aged 55 and above will earn up to 6% interest per year on their retirement balances.
The extra interest received on the OA will go into the member’s Special Account (SA) or RA to enhance his or her retirement savings. If a member is above 55 years old and participates in the CPF LIFE scheme, the extra interest will still be earned on his or her combined balances, which includes the savings used for CPF LIFE.
Interest rate for Ordinary Account and HDB mortgage rate
The OA interest rate will be maintained at 2.5% per annum from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018, as the computed rate of 0.24% is lower than the legislated minimum interest rate.
Correspondingly, the concessionary interest rate for HDB mortgage loans, which is pegged at 0.1% above the OA interest rate, will remain unchanged at 2.6% per annum from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018.
Please refer to Annex A for the detailed computation of the OA interest rate and HDB mortgage rate.
Interest rate for Special and MediSave accounts
The SMA interest rate will be maintained at 4% per annum from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018, as the computed rate of 3.20% is lower than the current floor interest rate of 4% per annum.
Please refer to Annex B for the detailed computation of the SMA interest rate.
Interest rate for Retirement Account
The RA interest rate will be maintained at 4% per annum from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018, as announced on 22 September 2017.
Please refer to Annex C for the detailed computation of the RA interest rate.
2018 Basic Healthcare Sum
The Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) is the estimated savings required for basic subsidised healthcare needs in old age. The BHS is adjusted yearly for members below age 65 to keep pace with the growth in Medisave withdrawals. Once members reach age 65, their BHS will be fixed for the rest of their lives.
From 1 January 2018,
- For members below 65 years old, their BHS will be raised from $52,000 to $54,500.
- For members who turn 65 years old in 2018, their BHS will be fixed at $54,500, which will not change for the rest of their lives.
For members aged 66 and above in 2018, their cohort BHS had already been fixed and will remain unchanged.
BHS is the cap to the Medisave Account and contributions in excess of a member’s BHS will be automatically transferred to his other CPF accounts. A higher BHS will allow for more savings to be kept in a member’s Medisave Account for their healthcare needs. CPF members do not have to top up their Medisave Accounts if they do not meet the BHS.
Public enquiries
CPF members can visit cpf.gov.sg or call the CPF Call Centre at 1800-227-1188 for enquiries.
