Securing your retirement with CPF

In September, a few important changes relating to retirement were announced: 4% interest on Special, Medisave & Retirement Accounts (SMRA) extended to 2013 The interest earned on your SMRA will be guaranteed risk-free at 4% per annum until 31 December 2013. With the first $60,000 of your combined CPF balances (up to $20,000 from the Ordinary Account) earning an extra 1% interest, you could earn up to 5% interest!

• Top-ups Simplified

The Minimum Sum Topping-Up (MSTU) Scheme helps Singaporeans build up their retirement savings through top-ups made to their CPF Special Account (SA) or Retirement Account (RA).

From 1 November 2012, the MSTU Scheme will be simplified so that you can top up more for your loved ones:

Recipient's age	New MSTU top-up limit (From 1 November 2012)	Existing MSTU top-up limit
Below 55 years old (top up to SA)	Prevailing Minimum Sum less: • SA savings • SA savings withdrawn for CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS)	Prevailing Minimum Sum less: • Ordinary Account (OA) savings • SA savings • OA savings withdrawn for CPFIS • SA savings withdrawn for CPFIS
55 years old and above (top up to RA)	Prevailing Minimum Sum less: • RA savings1	Prevailing Minimum Sum less: • OA savings • SA savings • RA savings1 • OA savings withdrawn for CPFIS • SA savings withdrawn for CPFIS

Make use of this revision to top up for your loved ones. If you top up in cash before 31 December 2012, you can get up to $14,000² in tax relief for Tax Assessment Year 2013!

From January 2013, you will also be able to enjoy tax relief when you top up in cash for your parents-in-law and grandparents-in-law.

¹ Excludes amounts such as interest earned since 55, any government grants received, and amounts withdrawn.
² Up to $7,000 for self top-ups and up to $7,000 for top-ups made for loved ones. Terms and conditions apply.

• Revision of Housing Refund Policy

From 1 January 2013, members aged 55 and above, who have used their CPF savings for property purchase, will be required to refund the principal amount withdrawn with interest (P+I) when they sell their property.

This will ensure that the refunds are proportionate to the amount of CPF savings that each co-owner had used to pay for the property. Read the full details here.

Visit www.areyouready.sg to use our simple "Secure Your Retirement" checklist, to run through some fundamentals for your retirement planning. Useful resources such as webcasts, articles, and calculators are available.