Written Answer by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on CPF Basic Retirement Sum

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1592 OF 2019 FOR THE SITTING ON 1 APRIL 2019 OR LATER
QUESTION NO. 1186 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: ASSOC PROF WALTER THESEIRA

To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the number and proportion of CPF members turning 55 years of age in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively who have set aside the Basic Retirement Sum, disaggregated by gender and household income or by housing type as a proxy for household income.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1611 OF 2019 FOR THE SITTING ON 1 APRIL 2019 OR LATER
QUESTION NO. 1208 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: MS. ANTHEA ONG

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number and percentage of current CPF members who are inactive, broken down by gender; (b) of the inactive members, in the last three years, what percentage does not have at least the CPF Basic Retirement Sum in their Retirement Accounts when they turned 55 years old, broken down by gender; and (c) what is the difference in CPF balances of inactive male and female members. 

Answer 

1. The cohort Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) is adjusted every year to take into consideration inflation and rising standards of living for successive cohorts of seniors in retirement. Even so, the proportion of active CPF members turning age 55 who had set aside their cohort BRS has increased steadily as shown in Table 1. This reflects higher labour force participation rates and rising incomes of successive cohorts of members.
   
   Table 1: Proportion of active CPF members turning age 55 between 2016 and 2018 who had set aside their cohort BRS
   

   Year that member turned age 55	Cohort BRS amount	Proportion and number1 of active CPF members who had set aside their cohort BRS at age 55
   2016	$80,500	58% (22,700)
   2017	$83,000	60% (24,100)
   2018	$85,500	62% (24,900)

2. The BRS attainment for both male and female CPF members have improved over the years and the difference in their savings have also narrowed. A study published by the CPF Board² showed that the male-to-female average CPF balance ratio has reduced from 1.20 in 2006 to 1.13 in 2016. We expect this trend to continue.
   
   Table 2: BRS attainment of active CPF members by gender
   

   Year that member turned age 55	Proportion of active CPF members of each gender who set aside their cohort BRS at age 55
   	Male	Female
   2016	63%	52%
   2017	66%	53%
   2018	67%	56%

3. BRS attainment tends to mirror property wealth.  It is highest among active CPF members who own a private property, and lowest for active CPF members who own 3-room or smaller HDB flats.
   
   Table 3: BRS attainment of active CPF members who own different types of property
   

   Year that member turned age 55	Proportion of active CPF members in each property type who set aside their cohort BRS at age 55
   	Private property	4-room or larger HDB	3-room or smaller HDB	No property
   2016	89%	56%	35%	49%
   2017	89%	58%	37%	51%
   2018	90%	60%	40%	52%

4. It is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions by looking at CPF balances of members who are economically inactive and thus not required to make CPF contributions.  They are likely to have other means of provision which CPF Board has no sight of. Nevertheless, inactive CPF members who wish to save through the CPF system can do so through voluntary top-ups to their CPF accounts either through cash or CPF transfers from other members. These members can also benefit from several recent enhancements that make it easier for members to receive CPF transfers from their spouse, children and grandchildren.