do u invest ur child saving?

[orange_sky]

I thought SA is locked until 55 yrs old for the kid? MA cannot withdraw at all till death? MA can only use for hospitalisation and medical purpose?

I am considering putting money into children's accts but will likely do so if the monies can be used to fund education. After reading cpf website only OA cn be used to pay for education?

Yes

So you should do a voluntary top up to all three accounts. Bulk will go to OA which can be used for education in the future

 

[BBCWatcher]

So you should do a voluntary top up to all three accounts.

I tend to disagree, with a key assumption (below).

A child in good health has the longest possible time horizon among savers. Given that, the prudent course is for the child to take a somewhat more aggressive investment posture than older savers(*) -- using vehicles that have short-term risk but higher long-term yields (with reasonable probability). That's not CPF OA if you know what you're doing. (Many people don't know what they're doing, of course. In fairness, it's somewhat tougher to do better than CPF OA onshore in Singapore, particularly at CPF bonus interest rates.) CPF SA and MA are closer to that more aggressive investment stance. With equities markets rather high right now I could see CPF (MA and/or SA) as a reasonable savings vehicle for the higher yield. Not for every dollar, but for some. MA can also pay for medical insurance, MediShield Life premiums, and maternity bills (for healthy grandchildren!) if nothing else, so why not toss a few dollars in that direction?

(*) With a couple caveats: saving for future tuition and housing down payments. Which means you probably ought to have a couple different "buckets" of savings for that child, with different allocations. The "college/young adult" bucket has roughly a 20 year time horizon from birth, while the rest can run much longer.

 

[orange_sky]

I tend to disagree, with a key assumption (below).

A child in good health has the longest possible time horizon among savers. Given that, the prudent course is for the child to take a somewhat more aggressive investment posture than older savers(*) -- using vehicles that have short-term risk but higher long-term yields (with reasonable probability). That's not CPF OA if you know what you're doing. (Many people don't know what they're doing, of course. In fairness, it's somewhat tougher to do better than CPF OA onshore in Singapore, particularly at CPF bonus interest rates.) CPF SA and MA are closer to that more aggressive investment stance. With equities markets rather high right now I could see CPF (MA and/or SA) as a reasonable savings vehicle for the higher yield. Not for every dollar, but for some. MA can also pay for medical insurance, MediShield Life premiums, and maternity bills (for healthy grandchildren!) if nothing else, so why not toss a few dollars in that direction?

(*) With a couple caveats: saving for future tuition and housing down payments. Which means you probably ought to have a couple different "buckets" of savings for that child, with different allocations. The "college/young adult" bucket has roughly a 20 year time horizon from birth, while the rest can run much longer.

Dude chill. I'm just saying if he wants to use the top up funds for education, he's only option is to top up all three accounts as you cannot top up OA only

 

[watermelon_xuan]

Hi all. Am abit confused here. By topping up my child's CPF account now means he/she can use the CPF for their tertiary education fee right? And they can waive off the repayment back to CPF upon graduation?

 

[orange_sky]

Hi all. Am abit confused here. By topping up my child's CPF account now means he/she can use the CPF for their tertiary education fee right? And they can waive off the repayment back to CPF upon graduation?

Depends which accounts you are topping up into. There are 3 types of top ups

1) Special account top up
Upside - min 4% interest
Downside - can only withdraw no earlier than 55 years old depending on OA+SA balance at that time

2) Medisave account top up
Upside - min 4% interest + able to use to pay medishield life and certain medical expenses
Downside - only for medical and insurance expenses

3) Voluntary top up to all three accounts
Upside - able to use funds channeled into OA for housing and education
Downside - lower interest for funds channeled to OA

Note all top up for children do not have any tax benefits

 

[JetStorm]

Depends which accounts you are topping up into. There are 3 types of top ups

1) Special account top up
Upside - min 4% interest
Downside - can only withdraw no earlier than 55 years old depending on OA+SA balance at that time

2) Medisave account top up
Upside - min 4% interest + able to use to pay medishield life and certain medical expenses
Downside - only for medical and insurance expenses

3) Voluntary top up to all three accounts
Upside - able to use funds channeled into OA for housing and education
Downside - lower interest for funds channeled to OA

Note all top up for children do not have any tax benefits

Medisave can use to pay insurance? I dont see this in medisave page. Can help to point me in the right direction?

Sent from Sony F5122 using GAGT

 

[nautilus]

Hi all. Am abit confused here. By topping up my child's CPF account now means he/she can use the CPF for their tertiary education fee right? And they can waive off the repayment back to CPF upon graduation?

If you are planning to use the topups for your children's tertiary education, you may top up their CDA account which will go into their PSEA account that they can use for their tertiary education in the future.

 

[akwl88]

Medisave can use to pay insurance? I dont see this in medisave page. Can help to point me in the right direction?

Sent from Sony F5122 using GAGT

Check ur cpf letter la

 

[BBCWatcher]

Medisave can use to pay insurance? I dont see this in medisave page. Can help to point me in the right direction?

Refer to this page (Integrated Shield plans) and this page (ElderShield) for more information.

 

[watermelon_xuan]

Thank you nautilus and orange_sky!

 

[hongge]

hi, how to check cpf balance of child below 15yo? they cant register singpass and no annual cpf statement.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Assuming your child has at least one dollar in his/her CPF account -- that's a prerequisite -- call up CPF and ask them to send you the form so that you can view your child's account when you log into the CPF Web site with your SingPass. CPF doesn't seem to post that form on its Web site. You could also visit a CPF office to make those arrangements, but that's a hassle compared to the telephone and postal mail. I recommend the latter approach.