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Understanding CPF Life: An Overview for Seniors

by | Oct 30, 2023 | A Better Tomorrow, Financial Services/Grants

In an era where the cost of living continues to rise, ensuring a stable financial foundation for retirement has become more crucial than ever. Singapore provides seniors with retirement funds through the Central Provident Fund (CPF) that ensures financial security for them.

CPF Lifelong Income is Singapore’s Central Provident Fund’s national longevity insurance annuity scheme that provides seniors aged 65 and above with monthly payouts. Earn high, risk-free interest of up to 6% per annum. Annuities offered by the private sector are subject to investment market returns.

 

Why is CPF Life Important for Seniors?

CPF Life addresses the uncertainty of us outliving our savings by providing us with lifelong payouts. It  is set to work like an insurance product for seniors rather than an investment product. Unlike investment products which are meant to increase their wealth, insurance products help to protect seniors against life uncertainties.

What CPF Life plans can I choose from?

There are 3 plans available that seniors can choose from; 1. Basic Plan, 2. Standard Plan and 3. Escalating Plan. To decide which plan is suitable for you, think about how willing you are to adjust your retirement lifestyle according to your expenses, as our daily cost of living are constantly increasing.

  • Basic Plan
  • Being the most basic plan of CPF Life, it ensures that progressively lower payouts will be issued to you. If you can manage to live a frugal lifestyle with  your CPF balance falling below $60,000, then the Basic Plan would be good enough for you.

  • Standard Plan
  • The Standard Plan offers a monthly Level payouts for seniors who are spending a fixed amount and prefer to keep within their budgets. However, this can mean that changing up your spending habits might incur more often than you think as things get more expensive in the years ahead.

  • Escalating Plan
  • If you think you would spend a higher amount than others, the Escalating Plan offers increasing payouts that increase by 2% a year for life. That being said, the Escalating Plan can generally help you to maintain your current lifestyle even as prices of items increase.

 

Which plan is suitable for me?

Before jumping in and choosing a CPF Life Plan, it is important to work out the monthly payouts and premiums you need. Using the CPF Life Estimator. It will help you to estimate the amount of monthly payouts you’ll need to support the retirement lifestyle you want. 

 

Am I eligible for CPF Life?

You’ll be automatically included in CPF LIFE if you’re:

  • A Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident;
  • Born in 1958 or after; and
  • Have at least $60,000 in your retirement savings when you start your monthly payouts
  • If you’re automatically included, we’ll inform you before you turn 65 to explain the options available to you. 

 

If you’re not automatically included, you’ll receive monthly payouts which will stop when your savings run out. You can check out more information over at CPF Board!

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About Growing Needs

Growing Needs grew out of our own encounters with caring for our aging parents and reflecting on the Growing Needs that we ourselves would face as we advance in years. We hope to build a community that will learn, share and contribute towards caring for the growing needs of our loved ones.

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