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SINGAPORE — The payout rules for the Retirement Sum Scheme under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) will change in 2020, with payouts lasting up to age 90 at most, instead of up to age 95 today.
The change comes after feedback from CPF members who felt that a payout duration up to age 95 was too long, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said.
With the change, members whose payouts were originally projected to end beyond the age of 90 will now have their payouts end when they turn 90 instead, and they will thus effectively see an increase in their monthly payout amounts, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said in Parliament on Monday (Nov 4).
The extent to which the monthly payout will increase for these members will depend on his or her individual circumstances, such as age, Retirement Account balance and existing payout amount.
It will also take into account any top-ups to and withdrawals from his Retirement Account, MOM said.
Mrs Teo said that the new rules will apply to all CPF members who turn 65 from July 1 next year.
For older members who have already chosen to start their Retirement Sum Scheme payouts under the current rules, the new rules will apply to them from Jan 1 onwards — provided the resulting amount is higher than what they are presently getting, she said.
As of Jan 1 next year, CPF will send out a letter to members who are already receiving their payouts under the scheme.
This letter will detail if and how they are affected by the changes. This includes whether they will see any changes to their payouts or not, and how their payout duration has changed.
Mrs Teo also stressed that changes to the rules of the scheme will not affect the payout eligibility age of 65, for members born in 1954 and later.
The Retirement Sum Scheme is the main retirement payout plan for CPF members who were born before 1958, and it kicks in when they reach the age of 65.
MOM stated that around 160,000 members have passed their payout eligibility age and have started receiving payouts through the scheme.
Of this group, around 60,000, or over a third, will get higher payouts under the new rules.
WHY SHORTEN THE PAYOUT DURATION?
The decision to shorten the duration came after MOM and CPF concluded a review on the payout rules.
MOM announced on Oct 7 that it had conducted the review of the scheme after receiving feedback from CPF members that the current duration is “too long”.
Taking into account the 4 per cent base interest rate on the CPF Retirement Account savings, the scheme is designed to provide members with monthly payouts for 20 years, or until their Retirement Account balance is exhausted.
The addition of the Extra Interest and Additional Extra Interest component, which were introduced in 2008 and 2016 respectively, allows the scheme's payout duration to be extended beyond 20 years, which the MOM had previously said “reduces the risk of members running out of savings in old age”.
For members who prefer to receive monthly payouts for life, Mrs Teo reminded them that they can opt for CPF Lifelong Income For the Elderly (Life), which was introduced in 2009.
CPF Life is optional for members under the Retirement Sum Scheme, who can apply to join CPF Life anytime between their payout eligibility age and before they turn 80 years old.
