Singaporeans who turn 55 enjoy an exciting milestone because it marks the first time they can withdraw cash from their CPF accounts (and not just use it for housing repayments or medical bills).
The CPF Retirement Sum is an important number everyone needs to keep track of, as it determines how much we get to withdraw from our CPF accounts.
For Singaporeans turning 55 in 2026, the aim is $110,200 for the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS), $220,400 for the Full Retirement Sum (FRS), and $440,800 for the Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS).
So, why are there 3 different Retirement Sums – and why do they increase every year?
Also Read: Here’s What Your CPF Full Retirement Sum Might Look Like When You’re 55
CPF Retirement Sum Only Kicks In At Age 55
When you turn 55, a new CPF Retirement Account (RA) is opened. Your Special Account (SA) and Ordinary Account (OA) balances will be used to fund your RA, capped at the Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
From 2025, the Retirement Account will replace the Special Account, which is another way of saying your Special Account will close at the same time.
The amount in your RA will continue to earn interest until it is poured into the CPF LIFE Scheme when you turn 65. You can choose to delay your CPF LIFE monthly payouts until you turn 70, at the latest.
When you finally enter the CPF LIFE scheme, between 65 and 70 years old, your total RA savings will be used to determine your CPF LIFE monthly payment, taking into account which of the 3 CPF LIFE plans you are enrolled in. This is another important decision you have to make, and you can read our article explaining the CPF LIFE Standard, Basic and Escalating plans to learn more.
To ensure that Singaporeans are saving adequately for retirement, CPF sets 3 amounts you should aim for: the Basic Retirement Sum, the Full Retirement Sum, and the Enhanced Retirement Sum.
Read Also: What Happens To Your CPF Monies After Transferring It To Your Retirement Account (RA) At Age 55?
What Is The Basic Retirement Sum (BRS)?
For the majority of Singaporeans, the most valuable asset you own is your property (and it is also the asset that you spent most of your CPF monies on). CPF recognises this, and you can opt to pledge a property that you own and set aside only the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) instead of the Full Retirement Sum. The BRS is half of the FRS.
| Year that Members Reach Age 55 | Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) | Estimated Monthly Payouts At Age 65 |
| 2022 | $96,000 | $850 |
| 2023 | $99,400 | $870 |
| 2024 | $102,900 | $900 |
| 2025 | $106,500 | $930 |
| 2026 | $110,200 | $950 |
| 2027 | $114,100 | $980 |
*Assumes male member under CPF LIFE Standard Plan, starting payouts at age 65 (for all calculations below).
Those who turn 55 and meet the BRS ($110,200) in 2026 will enjoy an estimated lifelong monthly payout of $950 in your retirement.
By pledging your property, you can potentially withdraw more from your CPF accounts at 55. After that, you can continue to withdraw any amount that is above the BRS that comes from your mandatory contributions. Our Retirement Sum Topping Up Scheme (RSTU) contributions are excluded and do not count towards our BRS. For examples of how this is calculated, you can read our article on how much you can withdraw at age 55.
The downside of the BRS is that being half the amount of the FRS, your eventual CPF Life monthly payouts are also almost halved (BRS: $930 vs FRS: $1,730).
Read Also: Here’s What You Need To Know About Pledging Your Property To Meet The CPF Full Retirement Sum (FRS)
What Is The Full Retirement Sum (FRS)?
The Full Retirement Sum (FRS) is meant to safeguard your retirement adequacy and is the maximum amount that will be automatically transferred into your RA at age 55, as well as the maximum amount you can top up your SA before age 55.
Those who meet the FRS ($213,000) in 2025 will be able to enjoy an estimated lifelong monthly payout of $1,730 in their retirement.
| Year that Members Reach Age 55 | FRS | Estimated Monthly Payouts At Age 65 |
| 2022 | $192,000 | $1,570 |
| 2023 | $198,800 | $1,620 |
| 2024 | $205,800 | $1,670 |
| 2025 | $213,000 | $1,730 |
| 2026 | $220,400 | $1,780 |
| 2027 | $228,200 | $1,840 |
Once you have met the FRS, you can choose to withdraw any amounts above it from your CPF OA and SA at 55. You can withdraw any amount that is above the FRS.
For example, if you have accumulated $250,000 in your CPF (across your CPF OA and SA) at age 55, and the FRS for your cohort is $220,400 this year, you can withdraw up to $29,600 ($250,000 – $220,400).
What Is The Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS)?
The Enhanced Retirement (ERS) is a little different from the BRS and FRS, as it represents the upper limit for topping up your Retirement Account (RA) and for your CPF Life payouts. You can only top up your RA beyond the FRS and up to the ERS after you turn 55.
The ERS for 2026 is set at 2 times the FRS, and the CPF Life payouts are correspondingly much larger, although slightly less than twice the amount.
| Year that Members Reach Age 55 | ERS | Estimated Monthly Payouts At Age 65 |
| 2022 | $288,000 | $2,300 |
| 2023 | $298,200 | $2,370 |
| 2024 | $308,700 | $2,450 |
| 2025 | $426,000 | $3,330 |
| 2026 | $440,800 | $3,440 |
| 2027 | $456,400 | $3,550 |
For those who have excess funds they intend to set aside for retirement, putting those funds into their RA to meet the ERS has its merits. Those who meet the ERS ($440,800) in 2026 will be able to enjoy an estimated lifelong monthly payout of $3,440 in their retirement.
As you can see, this is indeed slightly lower than double the amount you would get ($1,730 per month) by saving the FRS.
Source: MOF
While the BRS and FRS for your cohort are held consistent in the year that you turn 55, the ERS rises every year to the new ERS. This means someone who is 56 years old in 2026 can still top up their CPF RA up to the ERS of $440,800 in 2026, even though their cohort’s ERS was set at $426,000
Why The Retirement Sums Increase Every Year
Unlike the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS), which is announced every year, CPF has a schedule of Retirement Sums for Singaporeans turning 55 years old every year. This is to help you better plan for your retirement.
For those turning 55 from 2017 to 2022, the BRS increased by about 3% every year. This accounts for long-term inflation and improvements in the standard of living. Correspondingly, the FRS is set at two times the BRS, while the ERS was recently increased to four times the BRS from 2025.
| 55th birthday in the year of | Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) | Full Retirement Sum (FRS) | Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS) |
| 2023 | $99,400 | $198,800 | $298,200 (3x BRS) |
| 2024 | $102,900 | $205,800 | $308,700 (3x BRS) |
| 2025 | $106,500 | $213,000 | $426,000 (4x BRS) |
| 2026 | $110,200 | $220,400 | $440,800 (4x BRS) |
| 2027 | $114,100 | $228,200 | $456,400 (4x BRS) |
The increase of about 3% was determined at the recommendation of the CPF Advisory Panel in 2016. The panel examined the historical long-term rates of several indices, including the All Items (or headline) inflation and Core Inflation. According to the report, lower-middle retiree household expenditure grew at an average annual rate of about 5% over the past 10 years.
During Budget 2022, the BRS increments were raised for cohorts turning 55 from 2023 to 2027. This increase is about 3.5% per year, compared to the previous rate of around 3%.
We should note that the last time the retirement sum was raised during Budget 2022, the hikes were determined through 2027. Just referencing the latest 5.6% increase in the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) to $75,500 in 2025 from $71,500 in 2024, we may see a higher rate of increases the next time retirement sums are raised beyond 2027.
While the Retirement Sums may seem restrictive, they actually represent certain retirement milestones. With the FRS, we can expect monthly income from CPF LIFE payouts to provide an adequate retirement lifestyle.
With the BRS, we may need to downsize our property to fund our retirement. However, we would also have been able to withdraw more from our CPF accounts by pledging our properties.
With the ERS, we can most likely live off our CPF Life payouts during retirement.
Regardless, the monies in our CPF account can be any amount, and we should adjust our retirement expectations accordingly if we fall short of the Retirement Sums.
