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MIND THE GAP

Clearing the air on CPF Life: the best annuity in the market

The outcry over the move to cease ‘shielding’ of the Special Account obscures the good news in Budget 2024: a higher retirement sum means higher income from CPF Life

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Genevieve Cua

Genevieve Cua

Published Mon, Feb 26, 2024 · 06:00 AM
    • A larger balance in the Enhanced Retirement Sum enables the distribution of a higher amount from CPF Life in retirement. This goes a long way towards ensuring an assured income stream.
    • A larger balance in the Enhanced Retirement Sum enables the distribution of a higher amount from CPF Life in retirement. This goes a long way towards ensuring an assured income stream. PHOTO: BT FILE

    JUST days ago, a healthcare professional from whom I sought treatment chided me for not “shielding” my Central Provident Fund (CPF) Special Account (SA) some years earlier. What a waste, he exclaimed.

    I was aware of the practice of SA shielding, in which members invest their SA savings just prior to turning 55. This is the age when funds in the SA and Ordinary Account (OA) are channelled into the Retirement Account (RA).

    There is a particular order to this transfer. The SA funds are taken first. If that’s insufficient to make up the required retirement sum for your age cohort, then the OA savings will also flow into the RA.

    Mind the GapCPFRetirement

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