How Much Can You Withdraw From Your CPF Account At Age 55?

Turning 55 is a major milestone in Singapore. With retirement around the corner, CPF does a marvellous job of reminding us by creating a new Retirement Account (RA) and closing down our Special Account.

When our Retirement Account is opened, money from our Special Account (SA) and Ordinary Account (OA) will be transferred into it, up to our Full Retirement Sum (FRS).

For many of us, turning 55 will also be the first time we get to withdraw cash from our CPF accounts. The question is, just how much can we withdraw?

Everyone Can Withdraw At Least $5,000 From Their CPF Once They Turn 55

Regardless of how little we have accumulated in our CPF accounts, we can withdraw at least $5,000 from our CPF OA and SA accounts when we turn 55. If we have less than $5,000 in our CPF accounts, we can only withdraw what we have saved.

It is not a requirement to withdraw this money. If we want to leave it in CPF, it can continue compounding at 4.0% per annum in our Retirement Account. We can also choose to withdraw a partial amount, or multiple smaller amounts, with no restrictions on the frequency or amounts we can withdraw at a future date.

This is the base case for everyone. If we have more CPF savings, we may also be able to withdraw more than $5,000 from our CPF at age 55. This depends on whether we can save our retirement savings within the CPF.

Read Also: What Happens To Your CPF Monies After Transferring It To Your Retirement Account At Age 55?

If We Have Saved More Than The Full Retirement Sum (FRS)

The first thing to bear in mind is that our Full Retirement Sum (FRS) is $220,400 if we turn 55 in 2026. Depending on how much we accumulate above the FRS in our CPF accounts, we may be able to withdraw more than the $5,000 minimum.

Person A accumulated $250,000 entirely with mandatory contributions while working. Person B has accumulated only $100,000 through mandatory contributions, and the remaining $150,000 by top-ups via the Retirement Sum Topping Up (RSTU) Scheme.

In this scenario, Person A can withdraw anything above the Full Retirement Sum (FRS) – which is $29,600 ($250,000-$220,400). Person B can also withdraw $29,600 (($100,000+$150,000)-$220,400).

Person C has no mandatory contributions but has also managed to accumulate the full FRS amount through RSTU top-ups. Because cash top-ups cannot be withdrawn, this person cannot withdraw any funds from his or her OA or SA.

If We Only Want To Save The Basic Retirement Sum (BRS)

If we only want to save the BRS – by pledging our property – in our Retirement Account, we can withdraw more from our CPF accounts. The Basic Retirement Sum is half of the FRS, or $110,200 in 2026.

Read Also: Accrued Interest VS Property Charge VS Property Pledge: What Are The Differences?

Let’s start with the simplest outcome – Person H, who has only $60,000 in their OA and SA, will be able to withdraw only $5,000 from their CPF account. This means $55,000 goes into their Retirement Account.

Person F and Person G only have $120,000 in their CPF accounts. Under normal circumstances, they would only be able to withdraw $5,000 from their CPF accounts (because they don’t have the FRS saved).

However, Person F has accumulated $120,000 entirely from their mandatory contributions. If they are able to pledge their property, they can withdraw $9,800 ($120,000 – $110,200) from their CPF accounts.

While Person G has also accumulated $120,000, only $60,000 came from their mandatory contributions, and another $60,000 came from their RSTU contributions. Person G will only be able to withdraw $5,000.

This is because cash top-ups via the RSTU are primarily intended to enhance a person’s retirement adequacy and may also qualify for tax deductions. On the CPF website, it states that while top-up monies form our retirement sum (which is why we can withdraw any above our FRS), it will not be “taken into account in computing how much RA savings can be withdrawn in cash for property owners” (which is why we cannot withdraw top-up monies by saving the BRS).

Person D can withdraw $109,800 ($220,000-$110,200) from their CPF account if they opt to save only the BRS and pledge their property.

Person E, who has $220,000 in CPF savings, will also not be able to withdraw more than the basic $5,000 at age 55. This is because his mandatory contribution is $110,000, which is lower than the BRS of $110,200. His voluntary contribution of $110,000 is not taken into consideration when determining how much he can withdraw from his CPF.

Read Also: Why I Don’t Want My CPF Returned At 55 – But I Want My CPF LIFE Payout At 65

Should We Perform RSTU Or Transfer Monies From OA to SA?

Any monies we top up to our CPF via the RSTU will build up our retirement sum. This way, we can build a larger retirement nest egg while having the option to withdraw anything above the FRS once we turn 55.

Reaching the FRS earlier in our lives is crucial for reducing stress about our retirement adequacy and helps us compound the amount by earning a floor interest rate of 4.0% on our SA monies.

However, as we have seen in the examples above, we cannot use RSTU monies to withdraw more from our Retirement Account by opting to save the BRS. This is because the calculations for withdrawals do not account for cash top-ups.

But the amount we can withdraw does not apply to monies transferred to our SA from our OA, as they are still considered mandatory contributions to our CPF accounts.

When deciding to use the schemes available through CPF, we need to bear these things in mind. However, we also need to acknowledge that we are trying to build a greater retirement nest egg, rather than constantly or only thinking about gaming the system.

Read Also: 15 Little-Known Things About CPF That Most Singaporeans Are Still Unaware About

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