$3b in top-ups to CPF accounts made last year by 140,000 members, up 40% from 2019

SINGAPORE – Amid the uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, 140,000 Central Provident Fund (CPF) members made account top-ups under the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme.

They put in a total of $3 billion in top-ups to their or their loved-ones’ accounts, 40 per cent more than the amount of top-ups made in 2019, said the CPF Board on Wednesday (Feb 3). The Board added that $1.2 billion of top-ups were made in the fourth quarter of last year alone.

The number of people topping up for the first time rose, especially among the younger set.

More than one in three of those who made top-ups last year were first-timers, which is an increase of more than 50 per cent compared with the previous year, said the CPF Board in a media release.

Among young people below 35 years old, there were 86 per cent more who topped up for the first time last year, compared with the previous year. This group saw the highest increase in first-timers.

Compared with 2019, 27 per cent more people topped up their parents’ CPF accounts last year.

The Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme allows members to use cash or existing CPF savings to top up their own or their loved ones’ Special Accounts. For recipients below the age of 55, this is up to the current Full Retirement Sum.

Retirement Accounts of persons aged 55 and above can be topped up to the current Enhanced Retirement Sum.

The full sum is $186,000 while the enhanced sum is $279,000, for those turning 55 this year.

CPF members get tax reliefs of up to $7,000 per calendar year, equivalent to the cash top-ups made to their own accounts, and up to another $7,000 for top-ups for their parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, spouse and siblings.

Mrs Tan Chui Leng, CPF Board’s group director of the retirement income group, said that more members, especially young adults, are realising that topping up their CPF accounts is a key part of their retirement plan.

“As a parent myself, I am glad to see that children too are helping their parents boost their retirement savings by topping up for them,” she said.

She added that by topping up in January each year rather than in December, CPF members can earn 20 per cent more interest on their CPF savings in just 10 years.