SA savings were transferred to their Retirement Account (RA) up to each cohort\u2019s FRS, to earn the long-term interest rate of at least 4 per cent a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any remaining SA savings were transferred to their Ordinary Account (OA), which gives 2.5 per cent interest per annum.\u00a0These savings can be withdrawn as needed or invested.<\/p>\n
In 2025, such withdrawals reached a high of $8.6 billion.<\/p>\n
Those who turn 55 and own a property with a remaining lease lasting until at least age 95 can choose to withdraw part of their Retirement Account savings down to the BRS.<\/p>\n
They can withdraw up to $5,000 from their CPF savings, even if they are unable to set aside the FRS or the BRS using a property.<\/p>\n
Boosting the RA balance gives members higher monthly payouts for life when they start their CPF LIFE payouts any time between the ages of 65 and 70.<\/p>\n
So, instead of withdrawing their excess OA funds, some chose to transfer them to their RA up to the Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS) \u2013 a voluntary savings option that becomes available only when CPF members turn 55.<\/p>\n
Top-ups can also be done in cash or CPF transfers by loved ones.<\/p>\n
The ERS was increased in January 2025 to four times the BRS instead of three, or $426,000.<\/p>\n
The raising of the ERS \u201cspurred a significant increase in voluntary top-ups over $10.4 billion from 499,000 members, up from $4.8 billion the previous year\u201d, CPF Board chairman Yong Ying-I noted in the annual report.<\/p>\n
The report did not break down RA and SA top-ups, or cash top-ups and CPF transfers. Top-ups by members below the age of 55 go into their SA under the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme.<\/p>\n
The ERS increases every January, creating fresh headroom for members who had already reached the previous ceiling to make additional top-ups. The ERS became $440,800 in 2026, and will climb to $456,400 in 2027.<\/p>\n
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The CPF Board said $5.4 billion was disbursed to 696,000 CPF members as retirement payouts in 2025, up 22.7 per cent from $4.4 billion in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This worked out to a simple average of about $647 per member a month, up from about $624 in 2024 and $552 in 2023.<\/p>\n
Yong said retirement adequacy and financial security begin with informed choices made early.<\/p>\n
She noted that more than 400,000 CPF members had accessed at least one of the financial planning features on the\u00a0\u201cPLAN (Plan Life Ahead, Now!) with CPF\u201d platform launched in 2025.<\/p>\n
Before they turn 55, members can invest their OA or SA savings into approved investments under the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS), as long as they keep $20,000 in their OA and $40,000 in their SA.<\/p>\n
This could potentially allow them to earn more than the risk-free rate, which is 2.5 per cent for the OA and 4 per cent for the SA.<\/p>\n
CPF members can continue to invest their OA under CPFIS after turning 55.<\/p>\n
Existing SA investments can still be held after the SA is closed, but all their proceeds \u2013 including when these assets mature or are sold \u2013 will be paid to the RA up to the FRS.<\/p>\n
Any remaining balance flows into the OA, giving members the flexibility to withdraw the cash, keep it in the OA, or reinvest it via CPFIS-OA.<\/p>\n
For the year ended Dec 31, 2025, 522,000 CPFIS-OA investors had investments, down from 544,000 in 2024, according to the CPF Board\u2019s latest annual profit\/loss report for CPFIS-OA investments.<\/p>\n
About 86 per cent saw their investments outperform CPF\u2019s OA interest rate of 2.5 per cent.<\/p>\n
However, 8 per cent saw yields below or equal to the OA rate, and 6 per cent of the investors suffered total losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These figures were based on realised profits or losses of investments that were sold, as well as unrealised profits or losses of investments that members held during the reporting period.<\/p>\n
Sixty-five per cent of the investors saw their cumulative profits over the five years from January 2021 to December 2025 beat the 2.5 per cent rate.<\/p>\n
But 19 per cent had cumulative profits less than or equal to the OA interest rate, and 16 per cent made cumulative losses.<\/p>\n