Step-By-Step Guide To Making A CPF Voluntary Housing Refund

For home buyers in Singapore, tapping onto our CPF Ordinary Account (OA) funds for the downpayment and monthly loan repayments is a popular option. This is because using our CPF monies presents a low out-of-pocket approach, making it easy on our wallets.

Homeowners who go down this route, however, should note that CPF monies used must be returned, together with interest accrued. Such a condition is in place because CPF monies are meant to fund our retirement later in life.

Some homeowners who are expecting cash on hand from selling their homes may find themselves with an unexpected shortage of cash. The miscalculation could impact their planned immediate expenses, such as their next housing downpayment or other big-ticket expenditures.

Read Also: Here’s How CPF Accrued Interest On Your Home Affects Your Retirement Planning

One solution to avoid a cash-strapped situation is to:

(i) Check how much interest accrued is owed to CPF, and;

(ii) Make a CPF voluntary housing refund, if needed.

Here are six steps to do both items (i) and (ii); the first three to check on interest accrued and the latter three steps, to make the refund:

#1 Login To The CPF Home Portal And Select ‘My Statement’

To check on interest accrued, log in onto your CPF account. You can do it conveniently via SingPass.

Once you are through to the CPF homepage, refer to the left sidebar. Search for ‘My Statement’ and click through.

#2 Scroll Down To ‘Section C’ And Click On ‘Property’

On your ‘My Statement’ page, you can scroll down starting from ‘Section A’ and past ‘B’, to get to ‘Section C’.

Click on ‘Property’ in the section and you will see a table with both figures for the amount used and accrued interest. The specific figure for accrued interest is indicated by the row with the red arrow:

For a breakdown of the CPF monies owed, you can click through to ‘My Public Housing Withdrawal Details (boxed in red).

#3 To Make A Refund, Go To ‘My Requests’

If you have decided to make a housing refund, you can do so by clicking ‘My Requests’ in the left-side bar. This will lead to a page with a variety of options.

#4 Click On The Dropdown For ‘Property’ And Select The Option For Refund With Cash

In the ‘My Requests’ page, you can click the dropdown (the ‘+’ sign) and select the option ‘Make a Housing Refund with Cash’.

#5 Select The HDB Property And Input Amount

You can decide on any amount to refund, up to the maximum refund amount. This is the CPF monies from the Ordinary Account (OA) used plus the interest accrued.

#6 Select Payment Mode

After you have entered the refund amount, click ‘Submit’ and the CPF website will bring you to a page where you can select either payment mode: PayNow and eNETs. Make your payment and you’re done.

Why You Should Refund Your CPF Monies (If Possible)

CPF is a great tool for saving and retirement, but there are also terms and conditions for using the funds. Most notably, we will need to refund the amount used for the HDB home downpayment and monthly instalments to the CPF Ordinary Account. To enjoy larger cash proceeds from the sale of your home in future, it would be beneficial to return some, if not all, of the CPF monies when you’re able to do so.

Read Also: 4 Reasons To Refund Your CPF Monies Used For Your Home Downpayment And Monthly Mortgage