CPF member balances exceed half trillion mark in 2021
THE balances of Central Provident Fund (CPF) members grew by 9.4 per cent to S$505.7 billion as at end-2021, surpassing the previous record of S$462.1 billion in 2020, the CPF Board noted in the 2021 edition of its annual report.
Consequently, interest received in 2021 was also up, clocking in at S$18.3 billion compared to S$16.8 billion in 2020.
The number of CPF members remained roughly unchanged at 4.1 million last year. CPF contributions credited and collected amounted to S$44.7 billion, while withdrawals totalling S$19.4 billion were made.
Breaking the preceding year’s S$3 billion record, voluntary cash top-ups and CPF transfers into special accounts and retirement accounts surged 60 per cent in 2021 to S$4.8 billion. These top-ups were made by 294,000 CPF members, with about half topping up for the first time, CPF said.
The amount of CPF withdrawn from the ordinary account for housing also rose to S$21.9 billion, reversing the downward trend where withdrawals for housing totalled S$17.3 billion, S$17.8 billion and S$19.3 billion in 2020, 2019 and 2018 respectively.
Monthly CPF retirement payouts totalling S$2.2 billion were issued to 416,000 members, of which 85,000 will receive monthly payouts for as long as they live, based on the CPF Life scheme.
According to the report, CPF website and mobile app-based transactions also jumped, almost doubling to 171 million in 2021, from 90 million in 2020. This followed revamps to the website and app, which aimed to make them easier to navigate and more senior-friendly.
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