CPF Account Value Thread 2025

[highsulphur]

I contributed as well.

You guys tan tio liao lor. I lugi big big

Why lugi

 

[DevilPlate]

Why lugi

According to @royalmix , i helped to contribute to bigger CPFLife pool and the rest with FRS/BRS (smarter ones) song song sit back and enjoy the shared benefits?

 

[8zaoyu]

According to @royalmix , i helped to contribute to bigger CPFLife pool and the rest with FRS/BRS (smarter ones) song song sit back and enjoy the shared benefits?

Those I know who do not reached FRS or BRS w pledge off property to sell are usually not on long term careers type Or those BBFAs who says they got no children to take over property.
But 3 or 4 x to ERS, is for higher payout for myself, at least $30k gotten annually can get my own credit card when in senior age.

 

[Shion]

Given the drop in yields elsewhere, where are you guys investing your CPF-OA into ? Keeping them inside CPF-OA or moving them to CPF-SA ?

 

[s0crates]

Given the drop in yields elsewhere, where are you guys investing your CPF-OA into ? Keeping them inside CPF-OA or moving them to CPF-SA ?

Long term money = investments for higher returns. I don't understand why younger people would want to put their CPF monies in bond funds or tbills. Waste of time.

 

[highsulphur]

Given the drop in yields elsewhere, where are you guys investing your CPF-OA into ? Keeping them inside CPF-OA or moving them to CPF-SA ?

Keeping in OA isn't such a bad choice

 

[ericcsn]

Keeping in OA isn't such a bad choice

Yes I dont like it but I dont need the potential downside risk if otherwise

 

[DevilPlate]

Given the drop in yields elsewhere, where are you guys investing your CPF-OA into ? Keeping them inside CPF-OA or moving them to CPF-SA ?

Assuming u are young:

Firstly empty OA for property downpayment.
Secondly, use cash top up 8k to SA for tax relief instead.
Thirdly, invest excess OA into approved global equity fund.

 

[DevilPlate]

Keeping in OA isn't such a bad choice

For those nearing 55yo or already >55yo,

 

[yslvlys]

Assuming u are young:

Firstly empty OA for property downpayment.
Secondly, use cash top up 8k to SA for tax relief instead.
Thirdly, invest excess OA into approved global equity fund.

What is your limit for "young"?

 

[DevilPlate]

What is your limit for "young"?

Haven’t buy first property

 

[BBCWatcher]

But 3 or 4 x to ERS, is for higher payout for myself, at least $30k gotten annually can get my own credit card when in senior age.

I wouldn’t factor credit card availability into your CPF LIFE-related decisions. Most (all?) issuers have an age 75 limit, for example. And they all can consider liquid net worth, not just income.

Long term money = investments for higher returns. I don't understand why younger people would want to put their CPF monies in bond funds or tbills. Waste of time.

T-bills made some sense when interest rates were higher and the intention was to use those dollars for housing soon, or fairly soon.

Assuming u are young:
Firstly empty OA for property downpayment.
Secondly, use cash top up 8k to SA for tax relief instead.
Thirdly, invest excess OA into approved global equity fund.

There’s no “one size fits all.” First of all, everyone under age 65 at least gets the opportunity for some tax relief via MA every time the BHS is raised. Add in MA deductions for MediShield Life, CareShield Life, Integrated Shield base plan premiums, and qualified medical spending and you can at least get close to $8K per year just with VCs to MA. Don’t worry about tax relief specifically via SA when MA exists. Second, if you’ve got plenty of dollars for housing (basically, if you’re rich, or at least your family is), you shouldn’t worry about specifically using OA for housing. You’d just shove it into SA every month as long as you can, then you’d start investing it after OA to SA transfers are done. (OA to an elder’s RA is also possible.)

Situations vary, in short.

 

[marcoyeo]

I am 45, considering doing VHR with my surplus cash. After doing VHR already, then I'll invest the excess OA in UT. Not sure anyone has experience going through and what are your thoughts?

 

[henrylbh]

Given the drop in yields elsewhere, where are you guys investing your CPF-OA into ? Keeping them inside CPF-OA or moving them to CPF-SA ?

I plonk 237k of OA into equities and now almost reach limit available for stocks.

 

[BBCWatcher]

I am 45, considering doing VHR with my surplus cash. After doing VHR already, then I'll invest the excess OA in UT. Not sure anyone has experience going through and what are your thoughts?

1. Unit trusts are generally high cost. You can do better.
2. The CPF Investment Scheme involves additional costs and offers fewer investment choices. You can do better.
3. You can already invest cash directly. I can't understand why you would "burn" a finite resource (the ability to deposit/redeposit funds into a 2.5% interest earning account if that should ever become attractive) to do something you can already do (invest funds), especially when the CPF Investment Scheme involves additional expenses, fewer choices, and reduced liquidity.

In short, yes, go right ahead and invest your cash. Great idea. But invest in lower cost, more attractive ways (i.e. not via CPF OA repayment).

 

[laokorkor]

I am 45, considering doing VHR with my surplus cash. After doing VHR already, then I'll invest the excess OA in UT. Not sure anyone has experience going through and what are your thoughts?

1. Unit trusts are generally high cost. You can do better.

Hi BBCWatcher,

Yes, unit trusts are generally high cost with one exception, ie. Infinity Global Stock Index SGD C. The expense ratio is 0.36% and only available for CPFIS. Being index unit trust, there're no brokerage fee, sale charge and bid/ask spread. The US withholding tax treatment and diversification are great too.

So, it make sense to: (1) inject funds into CPF OA and (2) invest in this unit trust via CPFIS.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Yes, unit trusts are generally high cost with one exception, ie. Infinity Global Stock Index SGD C. The expense ratio is 0.36% and only available for CPFIS. Being index unit trust, there're no brokerage fee, sale charge and bid/ask spread. The US withholding tax treatment and diversification are great too.
So, it make sense to: (1) inject funds into CPF OA and (2) invest in this unit trust via CPFIS.

I disagree. Infinity Global Stock Index SGD C is merely a feeder into VHVE, listed/traded on the London Stock Exchange. VHVE has an expense ratio of only 0.12% — 24 basis points below Lion Global's feeder route. Yes, there's a currency conversion and broker commission, but there are no CPFIA fees. (With OA dollars you have to pay initial and recurring CPFIA fees levied by your CPFIA bank.) And you don't lose any liquidity or burn any CPF OA repayment quota to get cash into VHVE via the direct path. There are also no risks involving the extra intermediaries that an indirect pathway would entail.

Instead of VHVE you could directly invest in VWRA which adds the "emerging market" stocks that VHVE lacks.

Why would you route unrestricted cash via CPF and Lion Global to get to VHVE? Lion Global's fund could make sense for OA dollars already in OA. But not for unrestricted cash — I don't see how that works at all.

 

[laokorkor]

VHVE has an expense ratio of only 0.12% — 24 basis points below Lion Global's feeder route. Yes, there's a currency conversion and broker commission, but there are no CPFIA fees. (With OA dollars you have to pay initial and recurring CPFIA fees levied by your CPFIA bank.)

I'm using Phillips POEMS (previously)/FSMOne (now) and DCA around 2k SGD monthly into Infinity Global Stock Index SGD C. My calculation is that the 2 dozen or so basis points expense ratio for the unit trust is worth paying.

For the unit trust, my DBS agent bank CPFIA charges me 2.73 SGD. That's it!

For ETF, Phillips POEMS charges (1) 12++ GBP brokerage (2) currency exchange bid/ask around 0.5% (3) LSE price bid/ask another 0.5% hit. When I sell, I'll get hit again.

Buying VHVE will need many years of expense ratio saving to earn back the other costs, watching only expense ratio is not holistic.

 

[BBCWatcher]

I'm using Phillips POEMS (previously)/FSMOne (now) and DCA around 2k SGD monthly into Infinity Global Stock Index SGD C. My calculation is that the 2 dozen or so basis points expense ratio for the unit trust is worth paying.

Why would it be worth paying treble the expense ratio? And taking the liquidity hit? And consuming CPF OA repayment "quota"?

For the unit trust, my DBS agent bank CPFIA charges me 2.73 SGD. That's it!

Initially, and every quarter. Why pay that extra fee?

For ETF, Phillips POEMS charges (1) 12++ GBP brokerage (2) currency exchange bid/ask around 0.5% (3) LSE price bid/ask another 0.5% hit. When I sell, I'll get hit again.

Yeah, OK, so don't use POEMS for London Stock Exchange ETFs. Use Interactive Brokers, for example.

Bid-ask spreads on ETFs should not be counted when comparing with unit trusts, especially when it's the same destination fund. With a unit trust you pay the asking price as computed once per day. Bid-ask spreads are relevant when deciding between ETFs. ETFs with narrower bid-ask spreads may be a bit more attractive than ETFs with wider bid-ask spreads.

ETFs make limit orders at least more viable, so it can be more cost efficient that way. But I don't think long-term investors ought to worry about that minor difference either. Focus on what matters, and ignore what doesn't.

A factor that can matter is that you have to leave at least $20,000 in OA when you're investing (other) OA dollars. Unrestricted cash directly invested doesn't incur that cost, the cost to "drag" $20K at 2.5% p.a. Situations vary in terms of how much that "$20K OA drag" costs, but there's likely some unnecessary cost there.

 

[marcoyeo]

I am using Poems platform to invest in Amundi index funds using OA and SRS. Seem like lower fees to me over cash. I understand cash has benefit of liquidity. Basically lock up in CPF is deem not a favourable stance in this forum. But I wouldn't utilise this OA until 20 years later or more. Hence if I choose not to invest my OA, I would be treating my OA as a bond that pays 2.5% annually without subject to market risk.