By now, most of you should know that your CPF Special Account will close once you turn 55. Those who are already 55 and above will also see their Special Account closed from the 2nd half of January 2025.
When this happens, your Retirement Account will replace your Special Account – rather than serve as a 4th CPF account. The question then arises: where will your CPF Contributions meant for your Special Account go then?
While it is seemingly straightforward, that future CPF contributions will be allotted to your Retirement Account now, what if you have saved the Full Retirement Sum (FRS)? What if you have pledged your property to only save the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS)? And, what if you have already saved the maximum Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS)?
Read Also: 10 Changes To CPF Scheme That Will Happen In 2025
How Much Actually Went Into Your Special Account?
In the past, employees who worked after turning 55 made CPF contributions to their Special Account (SA) (as well as Ordinary Account (OA) and MediSave Account (MA). Even though they already had their Retirement Account (RA), it was used only for accumulating their retirement sum at 55 or through the Retirement Sum Topping-Up (RSTU) scheme.
It’s also important to note that there is another sweep of your CPF account at 65, or before you enter the CPF LIFE scheme, to accumulate more savings in your Retirement Account.
This amount may have added up to a substantial sum, as employees in the age groups above 55 to above 70 continue to make Special Account contributions between 10% and 1% respectively.
Employee Age (Years) | Ordinary Account (% Of Wage) | Special Account / Retirement Account (% Of Wage) | Medisave Account (% Of Wage) | Total (% of Wage) |
| 35 and below | 23 | 6 | 8 | 37 |
| Above 35 to 45 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 37 |
| Above 45 to 50 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 37 |
| Above 50 to 55 | 15 | 11.5 | 10.5 | 37 |
| Above 55 to 60 | 12 | 10 | 10.5 | 32.5 |
| Above 60 to 65 | 3.5 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 23.5 |
| Above 65 to 70 | 1 | 5 | 10.5 | 16.5 |
| Above 70 | 1 | 1 | 10.5 | 12.5 |
Source: CPF
(Allocation Rates (for monthly wages ≥ $750); From 1 Jan 2025)
As you can also see in the table above, CPF allocations into your Special Account rises till you are Above 50 to 55, and then gradually dips. This is mainly because many of you may be close to the Retirement Sum when you hit 55.
“Special Account” Contributions Will Now Flow Into Your Retirement Account…Or Ordinary Account
For those 55 and above, CPF contributions that currently go into your Special Account will now be fully channelled into your Retirement Account, up to your FRS. Of course, older workers between 55 and 65 will also receive 1.5% higher CPF contributions from 1 January 2025 – which will also go into your Retirement Account now. Those who earn more than $6,800 will also receive higher overall CPF contributions.
For those who have already set aside the FRS, whether fully in cash or a mixture of property and cash (i.e. the BRS), contributions that would have previously gone into your Special Account will now go into your Ordinary Account.
While this means you will earn a lower interest rate on these contributions, you can always choose to move your Ordinary Account savings into your Retirement Account in a separate transaction.
From 2025, the ERS was also enhanced to 4x the BRS (from 3x the BRS previously) – likely to help older workers save more their Retirement Account if they wish. Alternatively, this money forms withdrawable balances, as you have already saved your FRS.
For those who have already hit the ERS in their Retirement Account, you fall into the same situation, except that you cannot contribute any more funds into your Retirement Account.
Read Also: Senior Worker CPF Contribution Rates And CPF Transition Offset Scheme: What Businesses Need To Know
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