1. Ordinary account
  2. Special Account
  3. MediSave Account
  4. Retirement Account
    RA is created at the 55th birthday.

Uses and Interest Rates

Optimizing CPF

The ultimate goal of CPF is to provide a sense of security and confidence for Singaporeans during their retirement years.


It is critical to understand the schemes involved, and how to make use of them to secure your retirement.

Retirement Sum Top-Up Scheme (RSTU)

This scheme allows an individual to top-up/transfer to their SA to satisfy the current Full Retirement Sum (For age 55 and below)

or

Allows an individual to top-up/transfer to their RA balance to satisfy the current Enhanced Retirement Sum (For age 55 and above)


This could be done either via CPF transfers or cash top ups

Why Bother?

This is to make use of the higher interest rate of 4%+ and allowing it to compound earlier.

Pros and Cons

Pros :
Guaranteed returns
Managed by government

Beats inflation
4% interest > inflation of 1-2%

Tax relief (cash top-up)
Up to $7000 per calendar year

Cons :
Irreversible
Funds transferred to SA are permanent and could not be used to pay for housing.

Withdrawal requirement
Funds from SA can only be withdrawn at age 55 and beyond provided you satisfy the Full Retirement Sum.

No tax relief (OA to SA)

Conclusion

The 2 accounts CPFOA and CPFSA serves a different purpose, OA mainly for housing while SA mainly for retirement. With proper planning, one could maximize and grow their retirement savings at a faster pace, while having sufficient funds for mortgage.

To calculate how much more you will get:

OA to SA Calculator

For more info on all CPF schemes refer to :

CPF Schemes