While CPF LIFE payouts from age 65, most of us also know that we can withdraw a lump sum of at least $5,000 from our CPF Ordinary Account (OA) and Special Account (SA) when we turn 55.
What some of us may be less familiar with is that we can also withdraw another lump sum amount from our CPF at 65 – on top of what we may have withdrawn from our CPF at 55.
Read Also: 15 Little-Known Things About CPF That Most Singaporeans Are Still Unaware About
Recap: What We Can Withdraw From Our CPF At 55
When we turn 55, we are finally able to withdraw some of our CPF savings in cash. How much we can withdraw typically depends on how much CPF savings we have, and whether we have hit our Full Retirement Sum (FRS) for our cohort.
In 2024, the FRS is $205,800. In 2025, the FRS will be $213,000 – about 3.5% higher.
If you have less than $5,000 in our CPF accounts:
In this scenario, those who are stay-at-home parents, self-employed persons or unable to work, may not have much in their CPF Ordinary Account (OA) or Special Account (SA).
If we have some CPF Special Account and Ordinary Account savings amounting to less than $5,000, we can withdraw everything.
However, this does not apply to savings in our MediSave Account (MA) – we cannot withdraw that money. It also excludes any interest earned, government grants and RSTU top-ups.
If you have more than $5,000 CPF savings, but less than the Full Retirement Sum:
In the situation where we have more than $5,000 in our Ordinary Account or Special Account, but it falls short of our Full Retirement Sum (FRS), we can only withdraw up to $5,000.
If you have more than the Full Retirement Sum:
Having more than the Full Retirement Sum (FRS) means we can withdraw anything above it. The FRS amount flows into our Retirement Account, and will be locked away to enter the CPF LIFE scheme from age 65.
We can also choose not to withdraw any amount, and let our full CPF savings roll into our Retirement Account, up to the Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS). The ERS is $308,700 (1.5 x the FRS) in 2024, and will be $426,000 in 2025 (2 x the FRS)
Read Also: [Beginners’ Guide] Understanding CPF LIFE And Your Monthly Payouts When You Retire In Singapore
If we only want to save to Basic Retirement Sum (BRS)
In the situation we only want to save the Basic Retirement Sum (instead of the FRS), by pledging our property, we may be able to withdraw more funds.
If you want to find out more about these scenarios, you can read a previous article we wrote – How Much Can You Withdraw From Your CPF At Age 55?
At 55, we can also choose not to withdraw any funds from our CPF if we don’t require the money immediately. This is because we can withdraw these funds at any point after turning 55, while enjoying higher interest rates and risk-free returns from our CPF compared to bank accounts or investments.
Read Also: What Happens To Our CPF Accounts When We Turn 65
How Much Can We Withdraw From Our CPF Account At Age 65?
As mentioned at the start of the article, there is an additional window to withdraw funds from our CPF account after we turn 65.
If we are born in 1958 or after, we can withdraw up to 20% of our Retirement Account savings at age 65. This excludes any cash top-ups, CPF transfers and government grants, but is inclusive of the first $5,000 that can be withdrawn from age 55.
If we are born in 1957, which means we turned 55 in 2012 and will turn 65 in 2022, we can only withdraw a further 10% of the savings in our Retirement Account. This is because such members already had the option to withdraw up to 10% of their Ordinary Account and Special Account balances when they turned 55.
If we are born in 1956 or earlier, which means we turned 55 before 2012, we cannot withdraw any additional CPF savings when we turn 65. This is because such members already had the option to withdraw between 20% and 50% of their Ordinary Account and Special Account balances when they turned 55.
Source CPF
Similarly, when we turn 55, there is also no need to withdraw our funds immediately, and again when we turn 65. Even after contributing our funds into CPF LIFE, we retain the option of withdrawing this money partially or lump sum to supplement our CPF LIFE payouts if the need arises.
How Much And When We Can Withdraw This Amount From Our CPF?
We don’t have to worry about not knowing this policy or overlooking it when the time comes.
When we are approaching 65 (or our payout eligibility age which stands at 65 today), CPF Board will write to us to inform us of the estimated amount that we can withdraw from our CPF Retirement Account.
Once we get this letter, we can make the withdrawals within 7 working days from the day we reach our Payout Eligibility Age (PEA).
We need to make a decision at this point:
#1 Withdraw This Lump Sum From Your Retirement Account
We can decide to make immediate withdrawals once we turn 65. If we choose this option, there is no further actions we need to take. The remaining Retirement Account savings we have will be contributed into the CPF LIFE scheme for our lifelong monthly payouts.
While there’s no need to rush to withdraw, there is a deadline to choose one of the 3 options we have for our lump sum withdrawal – when we want to start receiving our CPF LIFE monthly payouts. We can start these payouts at any time after turning 65 and up to age 70.
#2 Preserve Flexibility To Withdraw By Moving Earmarked Withdrawals Into Your CPF Ordinary Account
If we want to start receiving our CPF LIFE payouts but want to retain the flexibility to withdraw this lump sum, we need to have it transferred to our Ordinary Account in the following month after the start of our monthly payouts.
#3 Convert To Monthly Payouts
If we do not want the lump sum withdrawal, and would prefer a higher CPF LIFE monthly payout, we can simply allow the funds to be contributed into CPF LIFE.
#4 If We Do Not Make A Decision
If we don’t make any decisions to defer our CPF LIFE payouts, it will automatically start at 65. At this point, the lump sum will be contributed into CPF LIFE.
Read Also: How Much More CPF LIFE Monthly Payouts Would You Receive If You Deferred Till 70
The post How Much Cash You Can Withdraw In Lump Sum From Your CPF Account At Age 65? appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
