Profile of CPF Members Aged 65 and Above Receiving Monthly Payouts under Retirement Sum Scheme and CPF LIFE Schemes
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Associate Professor Walter Theseira's inquiry into the demographics and payout levels of CPF members aged 65 and above, alongside requests for microdata access. Minister Josephine Teo stated that half of the 268,000 recipients in 2018 were female and 74% received under $500 monthly, though 76% are property owners, mostly in larger flats. She noted that the 2017 Basic Retirement Sum provides $700 to $750 monthly, supplemented by schemes like Silver Support, which provides approximately $600 per quarter. Minister Josephine Teo highlighted that average payouts for younger retirees are double those of the oldest cohort, reflecting system improvements and higher labor force participation. She explained that the Central Provident Fund Board is open to research collaborations that inform retirement policy while strictly safeguarding members’ privacy.
Transcript
4 Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number and percentage of CPF members aged 65 and above receiving monthly payouts under the Retirement Sum Scheme and CPF LIFE Schemes, broken down by gender and size of HDB flat/private property type; (b) what are the average monthly payouts; (c) what percentage receive monthly payouts of less than $500; and (d) whether the Ministry will provide CPF microdata access to external researchers to facilitate research into retirement adequacy.
Mrs Josephine Teo: In December 2018, there were about 268,000 Central Provident Fund (CPF) members aged 65 and above who received retirement payouts from either the CPF LIFE or Retirement Sum Scheme. About half of these recipients are females. Among the 76% of members who are property owners, 17% own private property, 54% own 4-room-and-larger Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats while 29% own 3-room-and-under HDB flats.
Of those who received payouts, 74% had monthly payouts under $500. The average monthly payouts differs greatly across the generations; the average monthly payout for CPF members aged 65 to 69 is more than double that of members aged 80 to 87.
In addition to CPF payouts, members may receive additional retirement support from the Government through the Silver Support scheme. This provides them with an average income supplement of about $600 per quarter, which is in addition to the other forms of Government support such as the Workfare Income Supplement, GST vouchers and ComCare.
With increased labour force participation and improvements to the CPF system made in the past decade, we expect younger cohorts to have higher CPF payouts. For example, about six in 10 active members turning age 55 in 2017 have at least the CPF Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) in their Retirement Accounts. The BRS of $83,000 at age 55 in 2017 will give members a monthly payout of about $700 to $750 for life.
The Member also asked about sharing of CPF microdata. CPF Board aims to strike a balance between the interests of external researchers with the need to safeguard members’ privacy. It is open to collaborating on research projects that can better inform the development of retirement adequacy policy.