Dear CPF Board




Dear CPF Board,


You are the appointed agency to manage my retirement fund, which comes from my monthly contribution from the day I started working. I had no options to self manage my fund, or to appoint better fund manager. In short, I was forced to work with you. Nonetheless, I thank you for the hard work all these years to provide me an impressive 2.5% interest on my contribution. I ought to be grateful that my money is still there. If not, don't tell me about it. Don't drop hints either. That is a bad habit you have acquired over the years and I am highlighting it today as feedback.


When we first began, we agreed for a complete withdrawal when I get to 55 years old. That would be more than 3 decades from my first contribution. It was an absolute peach to you. Even the worst local bank would offer me more than 2.5% for a crappy structural deposit on a 10 year term, capital guaranteed. If I use them, I would be able to do an early withdrawal my funds before maturity, albeit with a penalty charge. You could certainly do better than 2.5% for a complete lock in for no withdrawal option for 3 decades. Never mind about the yield. We are friends and it hurts our relationship if we get too calculative. That is why it is unacceptable for you to charge me an interest for any loan I take from my own money. We should give and take but unfortunately, you are the only one enjoy the taking till now.


Things turned a nasty corner when you begin to think it is rightful for you to dictate my retirement age and how to live my life. We agreed on a complete withdrawal at 55 years old at the beginning of our contract. You revised it, because you told me you cared for me. So you suggested 60, then 63 and now you are urging me to stretch my non-withdrawal to 65 years old, by giving me a bonus of $1,200 for a 2 year extension. that would amount to a total of more than 40 years of keeping my money with you. Oh, is that how things work around here? I would have offered you $12,000, to withdraw my money 20 years earlier. I would if I could, if you have the money to return me in the first place.


I'm must apologise for my lack of faith in you but that has been lost ever since you told me I would not be withdrawing my retirement fund at whatever age you decided, and the goal post is still shifting as we speak. Instead you told me I will receive only payouts like an unemployed working receiving handouts from Centrelink in Australia. The key difference is, the Australian Government pays the unemployed from tax receivables and the money I left with you, come from my pocket. Despite that, you think you have the right to hold a bulk of my money in which you called Minimum Sum, and even tell me I will receive no payouts if I fail to accumulate enough money beyond your Minimum Sum. Thus, I cannot help but wonder if the Minimum Sum is created to keep me alive or to keep you afloat.


Over the last 15 years, you have dropped too many hints to suggest things are not exactly in a pink of health within. I do not want to interfere with your affairs but do not make me pay for your mistakes. I entrusted my money in you because I was not given a choice. It is more than a privilege for you, an entitlement in fact. Do not abuse it. This is not a warning, just a simple advice from a friend.


Sincerely,

Your friend

15 comments:

  1. They are really lousy in managing funds. That kind of return with all the associated t&cs is daylight robbery.

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  3. Well deciphered with regard how CPF Members are denied the Original Arrangements and Purpose of CPF.

    And CPF Members are now like hostages to their very own monies.
    Wtf!

    patriot

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  4. The CPF scheme is the best ideas ever. A real lifesaver, on many occasions.
    Why does everyone conveniently forget to mention the employers contribution bit of it? That's an additional 20% of your monthly salary just put into your account each month.

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    1. Are you serious? That 20% would have been given directly to you if not for CPF. Employers calculate labour cost as the total they need to pay out. Talk to foreigners who have no CPF. They receive the difference in cash.

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    2. Not all foreigners receive the difference in cash. In fact, I've worked in three companies, and only one company offers the difference in cash.

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    3. No wonder he name himself as cow

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  5. it may have been a well intentioned public financial assistance scheme, but over time, greed has turned it into a fund that can be recklessly spent without responsibility. just like a gambler forcing his own mother to give him her life savings because he is earning money by gambling.
    and technically...for the borrower to charge interest for the lender to use his own money, no ethical code supports that. it is only by law that we are forced to abide by it.
    to further hold the "lenders" who are the citizens, to hostage, they make it a policy to prevent you from starting a business, or taking up a personal loan, or claiming the promised medical relief, if you do not keep up payments, even if you have trouble looking for a job.
    you may not even see or get any of it, ever alive. raising the withdrawal age, and minimum sum, to a level that it is likely you will die from illness or starvation or frustration, because you have not enough money to eat well, or unable to pay off bills, especially when you're unable to work. and if you have no next of kin, you're unable to use that money to give to charity (except for direct govt charities), as you have nearly no control of it whatsoever.

    the only way....is to take it as money that you can spend on whatever the govt allows, otherwise, just consider it as dead and gone.

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  6. I'm 62 cab driver. They ask me to top up my medisafe with $1900 cash. Why can't they use my the minimum sum that they holding on, which is my hard earned $ over yes to top up? If Not I'm Not Allow to renew my vocational licence. Is this extortion or blackmail by legalize gangster??? Furthermore i can only use my medisafe when I'm warded. Only C class is covered fully to a certain amount. As for class A or B we have to pay at least 50% or more. Why can't we use our own $ to at least enjoy our deathbed free? This is Singapore cpf

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  7. This is not an objective comment. Technicially, a CPF member can withdraw their funds over an above the minimum sum required to be kept in the RA account at the age of 55. If he is not happy with the CPF scheme, one might just give up his citizenship and withdraw the whole sum of money and be done with it. The tax regime in Australia and Singapore are different. Therefore, the approach to the welfare funding or retirement funding as the citizen age will defer for each country. The CPF scheme will change as the demographic changes so as to make the retirement funding sustainable in Singapore. Unlike, Australia, it citizen will have to depend on government to plan for its welfare as they age with tax that they pay. It can't be sure that the state will do a good job. Just look at Europe today. Therefore, if you want to remain as a citizen of Singapore, you got to trust the government. Thus far have they GROSSLY disappoint us!! Or it is just hearsays and guesses. On the basis of the track record, I would choose to trust the government that they do have our welfare at heart thus far.

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    1. Please, Mdm, enlighten us why must one give up his citizenship to withdraw his CPF, which is his money in the first place? Since we are into technicalities, why are we given no choice but to adhere to the Minimum Sum scheme? This has nothing to do with trust but the freedom to make choices for ourselves. If we insist on talking about trust, I believe it should be mutual. Have the people disappointed the government in any significant way that they have to design our CPF scheme in such a way?

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    4. Not sure if you'll see this, but I tried accessing your web-link on this page, and it just showed some profile of Temasek Holdings having invested in TutorGroup, with nothing whatsoever on the profits or loss, so I'm sorta caught in the middle on whether to believe your story. Saying that, I'm just a guy who's in the middle, not having made any decisions to believe this or not, just wishing to know the whole story before making any comments on this. Or do I have to actually log in to the website to see the whole story?

      Signed,

      A concerned citizen

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  8. Totally understand that the gov want to help the pioneer generation in retirement. Do kindly differentiate PG from the new generation. New generation are mostly very well educated and know how to manage and plan their retirement. From the way cpf is now, we know that cpf is nothing but just some random digits on a piece of paper.
    And also the whoever that change the terms of cpf, In business term, it is call breach of contract, did the cpf contract stated that it can anyhow change the withdrawal date last time, although i do notice that now the term and condition did wrote subject to changes.
    So to conclude, sg is a first world country with educated citizens that dunno how to manage and plan their retirement full stop

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