With effect from 30 November 2023, CPF Board will progressively implement new security measures to better protect CPF members from scams.
Default limit and option to limit online withdrawals
A default online CPF withdrawal limit of $2,000 a day will be applied to all CPF members aged 55 and above. This default daily limit can be adjusted to any amount, including $0 and up to $200,000, at any time online. Any increases to the daily withdrawal limit however, will be subject to Singpass Face Verification (SFV) and a 12-hour cooling period to prevent unauthorised adjustments.
With the above change, CPF members who wish to disable online withdrawals can easily do so by activating the CPF Withdrawal Lock which instantly sets the daily withdrawal limit to $0. With the lock activated, CPF withdrawals can only be made in person at CPF Service Centres1. To re-enable online withdrawals, members must increase the daily withdrawal limit. This requires SFV authentication and 12 hours to take effect.
Introducing a default daily limit for online CPF withdrawals is part of CPF Board’s ongoing efforts to safeguard CPF savings against fraudulent withdrawals online. This is on top of our existing precautionary measures, which include SFV as a step-up authentication challenge for certain CPF e-services. In addition, CPF members can be assured that their CPF savings can only be paid to bank accounts that are verified as belonging to them. They will also be notified immediately of any CPF withdrawals.
Update of personal account details
Besides imposing a daily limit for online CPF withdrawals, SFV and the 12-hour cooling period will also apply when members update their contact details with CPF Board from 30 November 2023.
By end December 2023, changes to bank account details will also be subject to SFV. New bank accounts will only be activated after the bank confirms that the account belongs to the member. This will take up to two working days. Members can view and update their bank account used to receive payouts under CPF schemes2, via the CPF website.
Notifications via SMS or email will be sent to CPF members whenever they make a withdrawal, update the daily withdrawal limit, or update their contact or bank account details. Members must update their contact details online before they can adjust the daily withdrawal limit or update their bank account details. They will likewise be notified once the changes have taken effect, after the 12-hour cooling period or after their bank account has been verified by the bank. Having a 12-hour cooling period provides members sufficient time to take action to prevent any unauthorised adjustments or updates from taking effect. Notifications on updates to contact details will be sent to both their old and new mobile number or email address.
While these precautionary measures may cause some inconvenience for CPF members, we seek their understanding that it is better to be safe than sorry, especially in today’s environment. CPF Board will continually review our measures to achieve a right balance between convenience and security. CPF members can find out more about these precautionary measures via the CPF website from 30 November 2023. For those who require assistance, they can contact us at cpf.gov.sg/contact-us.
We would like to remind CPF members to remain vigilant and stay up to date with the latest scam tactics. If members suspect that they have fallen prey to a scam involving their CPF savings, they should contact CPF Board, in addition to getting their bank to immediately freeze their bank accounts, resetting their Singpass password and setting their CPF daily withdrawal limit to $0. They should also make a Police report immediately.
1 Members can make an appointment to visit any of our Service Centres.
2 This includes CPF withdrawals for members aged 55 and above and monthly payouts. It does not apply to long-term care payouts (e.g. CareShield Life) where application is made through the Agency for Integrated Care, and Government payments (e.g. GST Voucher).
