Are you Ready

Category: CPF related

  • How to Invest Gold in Singapore?

    I am sure all of us know about the all-so-mighty and ever-important yellow shiny metal which was used centuries ago. It’s magical lure? It is a commodity with a limited supply and growing demand (from electronics to hedging against inflation). Let’s talk about how we can acquire this precious metal into our portfolio. Gold Investments […]

  • CPF Medisave vs Medishield – What is the difference?

    We believe what most people know about CPF is that it consists of Ordinary Account, Special Account and Medisave account. Out of these 3, Medisave seems to be the only one that you cannot withdraw, use or seemingly locked into obscurity. However, one major feature of CPF is its health coverage. While Medisave is more […]

  • CPF Lease Buyback Scheme

    Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) Lease Buyback Scheme is one of the schemes offered by the Singapore Government to aid its elderly to cope with their retirement. It aims to provide the elderly with a monthly income stream while allowing then to continue living in their current flat. Basic Idea/Concept You sell part of your flat’s […]

  • How Singapore Stocks perform vs CPF returns

    In our previous article, we compared Gold to CPF. The results show that while gold provides a slightly higher return than CPF, the risk (price swing) associated with gold is also much higher. As such, gold should be invested only if investors can buy and keep for a very long time (think 10 years or […]

  • Is it worthwhile to invest my CPF Money in the Investment Funds given?

    CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) was launched by CPF for CPF members to utilise their CPF money for investments and to enhance their retirement egg nest. For more information on the CPFIS scheme, you can visit the CPFIS scheme website here. The more important question however, is “should I invest my money into the funds?” Statistically, the answer […]

  • CPF Education Scheme for NUS, NTU and SMU

    You would probably have used the CPF Education Scheme to fund for your tertiary education in NUS, NTU or SMU. In fact, from personal experience of a local grad, people will want to exploit this scheme as an alternative to “withdraw” funds from their CPF! This comes forth from the perspective that the CPF funds indirectly […]

  • CPF Nomination in a nutshell – What you need to know

    The CPF Nomination Scheme is like a will by CPF. Money in your CPF are not covered by your will, meaning if you have made a will and included how your CPF money will be distributed, it is not legally enforceable by the Singapore’s law. You can change your Nomination whenever you like to, even […]

  • Is the New CPF LIFE Escalating Plan a good deal?

    Set to launch in the beginning of 2018, the new CPF LIFE Escalating plan is another retirement payout option for retirees to choose from beside the currently existing plan – the Basic Plan and the Standard Plan. The new plan includes 2 features: You start with a lower monthly CPF LIFE payout (20% lower than […]

  • CPF Housing Grant for Resale HDB to be increase for First Time Buyer

    In the Budget 2017, Finance Minister Heng Hwee Kiat made the announcement to increase the CPF Housing Grants available for first-timer families buying a resale HDB. The grant amount will increase from the $30,000 currently to $50,000 (4-room or smaller resale flat) or $40,000 (5-room or larger resale flat). This new enhancement has taken effect […]

  • Treating your CPF Special Account and Retirement Account as a Bond Investment

    Most Singaporeans consider their money in CPF as untouchable for any purpose other than for paying their housing loan, student loan or medical bills (More on CPF Schemes here). There is one more way to view your CPF money, particularly the money in your Special Account (SA) and Retirement Account (RA). You can view them […]

  • Essential things to know when Buying a BTO flat in Singapore

    Booking a BTO flat with your fiance/fiancee 1. Book a BTO with your fiance/fiancee. You will need to pay the option fee, a portion of the purchase price (10% for HDB loan & 20% for a bank loan), stamp duty and legal fees, all of which can be paid via your CPF or cash. The rest of […]

  • CPF Cash Top-up Relief

    CPF Cash Top-up Relief

    Top-Up Statistics In 2015, CPF account holders topped up their families’ CPF accounts by $649.9 million, 32% more than in 2014. CPF account holders also transferred $289.1 million of their own money from their Ordinary Account (OA) to their Special Account (SA), an increase of 12% from 2014. Retirement Sum Top-Up Scheme A scheme that […]