CPF BRS and FRS

[five5five]

I have been trying to find out the different between Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) and Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
Just could not find anything. How Can I know where I would fall.

E.G. When turn 55, I have 10k in OA and 150K in SA (Total os 160K). And the sum require for BRS is 100k and FRS is 200k. Will I fall into BRS of 100k. Then I draw out 60k cash?
I have a HDB flat need to pay the bank loan until I turn 65


I am so confuse. Any SIfu here can shed some light?

 

[SBC]

V simple.
At 55, RA will be formed with 150k. CPF Life starts earliest at 65, latest being 70.

Do take note of Withdrawal Limit. Once this limit is hit, you will not able to service HDB loan using OA.

 

[fr33d0m]

BRS, FRS is just a number.

if you don't have FRS in your combined OA/SA, all will go to CPF RA, leaving 5000 in OA/SA.

you can withdraw more from CPF RA to minimum BRS and you need pledge your property, which has its own condition.

 

[five5five]

Hmmm. Thanks.

From the you explain. Am I correct at the below.


my OA will be zero by the time I hit 55. I will start to use cash to pay bank loan for my HDB.
So my 150k in SA will go into RA when i turn 55. And I can draw out 50K cash as I must leave min sum of 100k BRS in my RA?
Pledge my HDB with a condition? this is something new to me.

 

[NTTDoCoMo]

Hmmm. Thanks.

From the you explain. Am I correct at the below.


my OA will be zero by the time I hit 55. I will start to use cash to pay bank loan for my HDB.
So my 150k in SA will go into RA when i turn 55. And I can draw out 50K cash as I must leave min sum of 100k BRS in my RA?
Pledge my HDB with a condition? this is something new to me.

You might want to read and take note of the Property Withdrawal Limit too.

https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/faq/h...pf-savings-can-i-use-for-my-property-purchase

 

[fr33d0m]

Hmmm. Thanks.

From the you explain. Am I correct at the below.


my OA will be zero by the time I hit 55. I will start to use cash to pay bank loan for my HDB.
So my 150k in SA will go into RA when i turn 55. And I can draw out 50K cash as I must leave min sum of 100k BRS in my RA?
Pledge my HDB with a condition? this is something new to me.

not every HDB is eligible to pledge. and BRS is minimum, your pledge may not be enough to support your max withdrawal.

 

[five5five]

i know about the withdrawl limit for HDB bank loan. I will have use cash for payment even before I hit the limit.

 

[five5five]

not every HDB is eligible to pledge. and BRS is minimum, your pledge may not be enough to support your max withdrawal.

OMG, getting more lenghty. Let say my HDB unable to pledge. my 150K SA balance will go into RA and I unable to draw 50k and leave BRS in the RA? And I can ponly draw out max of 5k?

 

[fr33d0m]

OMG, getting more lenghty. Let say my HDB unable to pledge. my 150K SA balance will go into RA and I unable to draw 50k and leave BRS in the RA? And I can ponly draw out max of 5k?

yes. correction: you will have 155K in RA. 5K in OA for you to withdraw if I am not wrong.

property pledge has its own condition and limit. You should consult CPF on that.

 

[sohguanh]

Just a friendly advice schedule a meeting with cpf ppl in one of the branch office if you got questions that is in desperate need to be answered.

I just have a bad experience with them via email. Each question take 5 working days. So my email got 5 questions taken total of 25 working days. And sometimes their email reply prompt you new question so another 5 working days. My starting questions take a grand total of almost one month of email reply to and fro. For each cpf reply they will send you a link to rate your experience so just give them one star each time.

 

[BBCWatcher]

I have been trying to find out the different between Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) and Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
Just could not find anything. How Can I know where I would fall.
E.G. When turn 55, I have 10k in OA and 150K in SA (Total os 160K). And the sum require for BRS is 100k and FRS is 200k. Will I fall into BRS of 100k. Then I draw out 60k cash?
I have a HDB flat need to pay the bank loan until I turn 65

I like sohguanh's advice to schedule an appointment with CPF if you'd like to learn more about your options. CPF also schedules some events that you may find even more convenient. For example, on March 6, 2024, they have a Zoom Webinar on retirement planning. They also have an online planner available here. I suggest trying those first, then if you still have questions, schedule an appointment.

Before your 55th birthday the CPF Board will send you a booklet that'll explain what's about to happen and what options you have. You can "do nothing," and usually that'll be perfectly fine. However, you might want to reserve some of your Ordinary Account savings to continue making housing payments, assuming you're able to continue using OA (haven't reached the limit).

Whether you reserve some OA dollars for housing payments or not, the CPF Board will open your new Retirement Account on your 55th birthday. It will fund your new Retirement Account from your Special Account then from your Ordinary Account. Up to the then current Full Retirement Sum, so in your case it will be below the FRS since you don't expect to have quite that much available. You're not required to make up any shortfall with cash. In fact, subject to certain conditions you may be able to withdraw some savings if you wish. (You have a property charge already since you used OA dollars for housing, so that part is probably already satisfied.) I suggest you shouldn't withdraw funds unless you really need the money earlier than your CPF LIFE payout starting age.

After your Retirement Account is opened the portion of your compulsory contributions (from employment) that previously ended up in your Special Account will then start flowing into your Retirement Account. Those additional contributions, plus interest, will help your Retirement Account grow. You can also add funds to your Retirement Account, and you may be eligible for tax relief when you do so. You can transfer Ordinary Account dollars (earning 2.5% interest) to your Retirement Account (earning 4+% interest) if you have them and don't need them for housing (or can't use them for housing). If you have a spouse or other qualified family member (such as a chlid) with CPF savings then that family member may be able to transfer his/her Ordinary Account dollars to your Retirement Account (and to your Special Account now, in fact). The bigger your Retirement Account, the higher your CPF LIFE monthly payouts will be.

You can start CPF LIFE payouts at age 65, at age 70 (the default), or any time in between. The longer you wait, the bigger the payouts (as you might expect).

 

[item2sell]

After they close SA at 55 yo
All my questions vanish

 

[ThreeSteps]

I have been trying to find out the different between Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) and Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
Just could not find anything. How Can I know where I would fall.

E.G. When turn 55, I have 10k in OA and 150K in SA (Total os 160K). And the sum require for BRS is 100k and FRS is 200k. Will I fall into BRS of 100k. Then I draw out 60k cash?
I have a HDB flat need to pay the bank loan until I turn 65


I am so confuse. Any SIfu here can shed some light?

1. go to: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member (scroll down to ‘Upcoming events’)
Zoom Webinar: Planning for Your Retirement with CPF (6 Mar)
As you approach your 55th birthday, you might have the following questions in mind:
How much can I withdraw from my CPF when I turn 55?
What is CPF LIFE?
How much can I receive every month from age 65?

2. You can also read the following:
https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/faq/r...hat-are-the-retirement-sums-applicable-to-me-
https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/retir...withdrawal-of-cpf-savings-for-property-owners
https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/infoh...a-withdrawal-for-all-my-cpf-savings-at-age-55

 

[JustDoLor]

If I remembered correctly 6 months before turning 55, CPF will send an information package to members on what to expect. (Not sure if it is still being practise as I last saw a physical copy a few years back).

The package includes a booklet with very good info and illustrations. I can’t find this on the official CPF website. But a 2020 copy is available at scribd. You may want to take a look.

https://www.scribd.com/document/592446391/CPF-Retirement-Planning-Booklet

 

[dgeralds]

I have a query. My RA is above current ERS at present. Come 2025, my SA dollars will go into my OA and SA will be closed. At this point can I transfer cash (not SA or OA) to RA to bring it up to $426K (2025 ERS)?

I know OA interest is low but at my age I cannot take any risk on my capital.

 

[Andrew833]

I have been trying to find out the different between Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) and Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
Just could not find anything. How Can I know where I would fall.

E.G. When turn 55, I have 10k in OA and 150K in SA (Total os 160K). And the sum require for BRS is 100k and FRS is 200k. Will I fall into BRS of 100k. Then I draw out 60k cash?
I have a HDB flat need to pay the bank loan until I turn 65


I am so confuse. Any SIfu here can shed some light?

In 2024, Full Retirement Sum (FRS) is $205,800. Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) is half of FRS, $102,900.
When you turn age 55, Both SA and OA goes to RA (retirement Account) $160,000.
Since you did not meet the FRS, you can only withdraw (auto deposit to your bank account) $5,000.
Your RA will left with $155,000.

If your HDB flat lease can last until you age 95. You can property pledge, your RA can maintain at BRS. the rest of the amount will goes to OA and you can withdraw it. This need to be done in CPF office bah.

For case that you cannot do property pledge. If you continue to work, at age 65, CPF will take your OA to RA to meet the FRS. Any excess you can withdraw. (In 2025, after age 55, no more SA account.)

 

[PhantomOpera]

I have a query. My RA is above current ERS at present. Come 2025, my SA dollars will go into my OA and SA will be closed. At this point can I transfer cash (not SA or OA) to RA to bring it up to $426K (2025 ERS)?

I know OA interest is low but at my age I cannot take any risk on my capital.

“Growing your CPF savings further​

1) Top up to the prevailing ERS​

If you are looking to receive higher monthly payouts, you can make cash top-ups or CPF transfers to your Retirement Account (up to your prevailing ERS).”


Yes, you can do a cash top up to yr RA in 2025 via cpf website:

https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/tools...cash-top-ups-and-cpf-transfers-for-retirement

 

[snowcrabramyeon]

I have a query. My RA is above current ERS at present. Come 2025, my SA dollars will go into my OA and SA will be closed. At this point can I transfer cash (not SA or OA) to RA to bring it up to $426K (2025 ERS)?

I know OA interest is low but at my age I cannot take any risk on my capital.

When SA closes, it would only "automatically" transfer up to FRS to your RA (since your RA is way above that, this transfer amount would be zero). The remainder of your SA would go to OA. You can top up your RA to the prevailing maximum using cash or using OA. The prevailing maximum of the RA will go up every year; this maximum excludes whatever RA interest you have accumulated thus far (ie, the 2025 max of $426k excludes whatever interest you have accumulated thus far). So every year when the prevailing maximum goes up, even though your accumulated interest has pushed your RA higher than the prevailing maximum, you still can do the top up. For example, if in 2023 your RA is already at its max, in Jan 2024 you can still top up 10500 to hit the 2024 prevailing maximum.

 

[BBCWatcher]

I know OA interest is low but at my age I cannot take any risk on my capital.

You've gotten some good answers, but I just want to point out that there's a popular minimum risk (for Singapore dollars) alternative available: Singapore Savings Bonds. The yield on the current SSB is higher than 2.5%. (We'll see in early 2025 what SSB rates are like.) SSBs are Singapore Government Securities, so they're backed by the full faith and credit of the Singapore government. They're reasonably liquid (in $500 increments) via a monthly redemption cycle. Each SSB matures after 10 years, so you're guaranteed at least 10 years of higher interest (if it's higher than OA's floor rate and if you hold to maturity).

At maturity it's possible that you could land in an ultra low interest rate environment. SSBs are not protected against creditors and courts like CPF savings are. And you can only hold a maximum of $200,000 worth of SSBs per individual ($400,000 for a couple), except for inherited SSBs which can exceed that amount.

 

[stiffs]

I have been trying to find out the different between Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) and Full Retirement Sum (FRS).
Just could not find anything. How Can I know where I would fall.

E.G. When turn 55, I have 10k in OA and 150K in SA (Total os 160K). And the sum require for BRS is 100k and FRS is 200k. Will I fall into BRS of 100k. Then I draw out 60k cash?
I have a HDB flat need to pay the bank loan until I turn 65


I am so confuse. Any SIfu here can shed some light?

Go for at least FRS, preferably ERS because these are the only viable financial instruments for you to die with zero dollars. With CPF Life as your primary income, you can carelessly spend your other assets.