Changes proposed to help build retirement savings

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Read? Baby Boomers in 1950s are going to sell their house for retirement!!!

Read? More may be able to transfer CPF savings to parents and grandparents

SINGAPORE - More people may soon be able to help their elders save for retirement.

Changes to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Act have been proposed in Parliament to lower the minimum amount they must hold in their own CPF accounts before making transfers to their parents and grandparents.

Currently, CPF members must meet the prevailing Full Retirement Sum - which is $166,000 for CPF members aged 55 this year - before they can transfer extra savings to their parents' or grandparents' accounts.

Members aged 55 and above need to meet the retirement sum specified for their cohort.

Under the changes proposed by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Monday (Oct 2), CPF members will be able to make the transfers if they have at least the Basic Retirement Sum - which is half the full sum - and a sufficient property pledge or charge to make up the rest of the full sum.

The ministry said in a press statement that this change is part of enhancements "which aim to improve the retirement adequacy of CPF members". Last year, the threshold to make transfers to a spouse's CPF account was lowered to the Basic Retirement Sum, instead of the full sum.


CW8888

Look like Uncle8888's observation and what he knew from conversation with many of his peers in the last few years is getting momentum from the Government's concern on current parents' or grandparents' retirement adequacy. The next decade or 1.5 decades we may see flood of housing downgrade and rental vacancy.