Written Answer by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on CPF top-ups
Notice Paper No. 46 Of 2016 For The Sitting On 29 Feb 2016
Question No. 98 For Written Answer
MP: Ms Foo Mee Har
To ask the Minister for Manpower what has been the impact of recent CPF changes on the number and amount of CPF top-ups that CPF members can make to (i) their own CPF accounts and (ii) their family members’ CPF accounts.
Answer
- Since January 2016, CPF members can transfer CPF savings above the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) to their spouse’s Special or Retirement Account. Previously, they could only do so when their CPF savings were above their Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
- There were over 400 transfers of CPF savings to spouses in January 2016, about two and half times more than the same month last year. These transfers to spouses totalled $12 million. About 1 in 20 of these transfers were made by members with CPF savings above their BRS but below their FRS. We expect more CPF members to benefit from this change over time.
- Since January 2016, CPF members above the age of 55 can have their Retirement Account topped-up to the current Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS), instead of the FRS previously. In the month of January 2016, there were 1,700 such top-ups, with a total top-up sum of $80 million.