Question 1

What happens to my CPF savings at 55?

Accepted Answer

At 55 a Retirement Account is created for you. Savings move across from your Special Account first, then your Ordinary Account, up to the retirement sum you are working towards. Anything above that stays in your Ordinary Account and can be withdrawn.

Question 2

What is the Full Retirement Sum?

Accepted Answer

The Full Retirement Sum is the standard target used to work out your CPF LIFE payouts. Meeting it means your Retirement Account holds enough to fund the standard monthly payout from 65. The figure is fixed for your cohort once you turn 55 and rises for each later cohort.

Question 3

What if I do not meet the Full Retirement Sum?

Accepted Answer

You are not required to top up. Your CPF LIFE payout is simply based on whatever your Retirement Account holds. You can also work towards the Basic Retirement Sum instead, which is lower and available if you own a property with a sufficient remaining lease.

Question 4

Can I withdraw CPF savings above the retirement sum?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Savings above your retirement sum remain in your Ordinary Account and can be withdrawn from 55. The amount set aside in your Retirement Account funds your monthly payouts instead.

Question 5

Does delaying my payout increase it?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Payouts can start any time between 65 and 70, and each year of deferment raises the monthly amount, because the savings continue to earn interest and are paid over a shorter expected period.

Question 6

Will my CPF LIFE payout be enough to live on?

Accepted Answer

That depends on your expenses, and on inflation between now and the year your payouts start. A payout that looks comfortable today buys noticeably less decades later: at 2.5% a year, buying power roughly halves over 30 years. This calculator restates your payout in today's money and shows the monthly gap against the expenses you enter, so you can see what would have to come from savings outside CPF.

Question 7

Do Singapore PRs contribute to CPF at the same rate as citizens?

Accepted Answer

Not for the first two years. Under the graduated rates, a PR in their 1st year contributes 9% of wages in total (5% employee, 4% employer) for those aged 55 and below, rising to 24% (15% employee, 9% employer) in the 2nd year. Full citizen rates of 37% apply from the 3rd year of PR status. This calculator applies the graduated rates for those first two years and then moves you onto the full rates.

Question 8

What is the difference between the CPF LIFE Standard, Basic and Escalating plans?

Accepted Answer

Standard pays the highest level monthly amount and leaves a smaller bequest. Basic pays roughly 10-15% less each month but leaves more to your beneficiaries. Escalating starts around 20% lower than Standard and then rises by a fixed 2% every year for life, which protects against inflation and typically overtakes Standard somewhere around age 80. CPF does not publish a simple plan comparison table, so treat the Basic and Escalating figures here as indicative and confirm with CPF's own estimator.

Account at 55	Balance
Retirement Account (RA)	S$220,400
Ordinary Account (OA)	S$496,978
Special Account (SA)	S$255,741
MediSave (MA)	S$79,000

Retirement sum	Set aside at 55	Payout from 65
Basic (BRS)If you own a property with a lease to age 95	S$110,200	S$950 – S$990
Full (FRS)The default if you set aside cash only	S$220,400	S$1,640 – S$1,780
Enhanced (ERS)The maximum you can top up to	S$440,800	S$3,200 – S$3,400

CPF Retirement Calculator 2026

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CPF retirement sums and CPF LIFE payouts (2026)

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