CPF ups Min Sum to $148k and MinMedSave to $45.5k (increased of $11k in total)

[myfirstpc]

http://http://www.straitstimes.com/b...iling-raised-2

By Poon Chian Hui

The minimum sum for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Medisave will be raised from July 1.

Account holders who turn 55 between July 1 and June 30 next year will need to set aside a minimum sum of $148,000 in their CPF retirement account. This is up from the $139,000 required last year.

Meanwhile, the minimum sum for healthcare savings scheme Medisave will be raised to $40,500, up from the current $38,500. This is the amount that a person turning 55 has to set aside for healthcare expenses in his old age.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the CPF Board said that the maximum amount of money one can have in his Medisave account, known as the Medisave Contribution Ceiling (MCC), would also be increased accordingly to $45,500. It is now at $43,500. It added that the CPF minimum sums have been adjusted over the years to account for inflation, longer lifespans and rising expectations of quality of life after retirement.

--------------------------

IMHO: That is a $11K in total. ($9K for MS and $2K for MMS). Approx ballpark figure for discussion, Salary $10K pm, $1.8K to OA+SA+MedSave. Takes about 10mths to catch up with the shortfall of $11K. For those earning below $4k pm, the light is not at the end of the tunnel yet.

[Clim1688]

Difficult to catch up coz by the time you close the gap the minimum sum will increase again.

[hyenergix]

Good. More money for sovereign funds to invest.

[DC33_2008]

Invest or cover up losses?

Good. More money for sovereign funds to invest.

[hyenergix]

Invest or cover up losses?

Invest of course. Losses is a dirty word

[myfirstpc]

Slaried men should also have their salaries adjusted to offset "future inflation". By the same formula, our salaries will be increased $2k to $4k per mth in the following year !.

[starrynight]

Really makes you wonder if the money is still there

[DC33_2008]

Already know of some young civil servant who got an automatic pay rise recently of about $600 with a base pay of $3000.

Slaried men should also have their salaries adjusted to offset "future inflation". By the same formula, our salaries will be increased $2k to $4k per mth in the following year !.

[hyenergix]

It is increasing at a rate of about $8k every year, except for 2009 which was the year of economic recession and failed investments. This leads one to suspect another partial reason of the increase.

Year/ Min Sum in 2003 dollar/ Min Sum after adjusting for inflation/ % increase
1-Jul-03 $80,000 80000
1-Jul-04 $84,000 84500 5.6%
1-Jul-05 $88,000 90,000 6.5%
1-Jul-06 $92,000 94,600 5.1%
1-Jul-07 $96,000 99600 5.3%
1-Jul-08 $100,000 106000 6.4%
1-Jul-09 $104,000 117000 10.4%
1-Jul-10 $108,000 123000 5.1%
1-Jul-11 $112,000 131000 6.5%
1-Jul-12 $113,000 139000 6.1%

http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/r.../Reach55-2.htm

[myfirstpc]

55 yo, we will all surely reach/meet, but for MS, most will never meet the requirement !

[thomastansb]

They might as well make it 10 millions. No one can take it out anyway.

[Allthepies]

I don't really care. depend on one self to make money, I don't beg from people or government to feed me.

but the forced savings really good for the majority of the people. They don't save, indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification when they are working.

[The_Way_I_See_It]

I don't really care. depend on one self to make money, I don't beg from people or government to feed me.

but the forced savings really good for the majority of the people. They don't save, indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification when they are working.

" but the forced savings really good for the majority of the people. They don't save, indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification when they are working." -

that;s true till a point of time when they are economic productively BUT when the folks are above 60 for goodness sake, but don't locked their money b'cos they do need their money to survive when you don't have a welfare system for the elderly , and don't give the crap reasoning like people in their 60s " indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification "

Keep moving the goal post only imply a lack of faith and trust and a hidden agenda.

[Shanhz]

" but the forced savings really good for the majority of the people. They don't save, indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification when they are working." -

that;s true till a point of time when they are economic productively BUT when the folks are above 60 for goodness sake, but don't locked their money b'cos they do need their money to survive when you don't have a welfare system for the elderly , and don't give the crap reasoning like people in their 60s " indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification "

Keep moving the goal post only imply a lack of faith and trust and a hidden agenda.

i tot goal post moving dun affect retirees.

only us. amt of cpf avail to buy hse remain stagnant over the yrs becoz MS keep gg up but salary cap and contrib rate remain same. wan to buy hse must grow cash

[The_Way_I_See_It]

i tot goal post moving dun affect retirees.

only us. amt of cpf avail to buy hse remain stagnant over the yrs becoz MS keep gg up but salary cap and contrib rate remain same. wan to buy hse must grow cash

"i tot goal post moving dun affect retirees. - you are probably too young to see this.

:Goal post moving " in the sense that the legitimate withdrawal age is "moving from 55 to 62, then to 85 .... CPF annuity Life in drips and drap". Crap Crap Crap !!

Did'nt you hear Raymond Yap (age 66 ) at Hong LIm Park challenging the minitster on National TV to return him his migre CPF LIfe savings. He challenge the gahment to gurantee that he lived to 85 or longer like some old non-working MP still receiving citizens stipends ..What Raymund is saying is that the Gahment won't return him his money when he is still alive .

[Shanhz]

"i tot goal post moving dun affect retirees. - you are probably too young to see this.

:Goal post moving " in the sense that the legitimate withdrawal age is "moving from 55 to 62, then to 85 .... CPF annuity Life in drips and drap". Crap Crap Crap !!

Did'nt you hear Raymond Yap (age 66 ) at Hong LIm Park challenging the minitster on National TV to return him his migre CPF LIfe savings. He challenge the gahment to gurantee that he lived to 85 or longer like some old non-working MP still receiving citizens stipends ..What Raymund is saying is that the Gahment won't return him his money when he is still alive .

yah, totally agree. by the time i retire.. oops.. maybe i will never retire.. the goal post already past 100.

[mcmlxxvi]

thats y better retire now n die early a happy camper than a sad withered penniless soul at 99 yrs leasehold who despite slogging to contribute to this economy got no peace of mind till d day.

[teddybear]

No you are wrong. They tell you that you are ungrateful for saying that!
You should thank them profusely for helping you to safe-guard your ever increasing min sum of money in CPF Life so that you will not squander them on womanizing, expensive luxuries, holidays, blah blah so that you have enough money to live until 99 years old! Don't hope for the state to help you because they don't provide benefits!

Oh wait a minute, isn't GST vouchers, and workfare etc a form of benefits as well?

thats y better retire now n die early a happy camper than a sad withered penniless soul at 99 yrs leasehold who despite slogging to contribute to this economy got no peace of mind till d day.

[DC33_2008]

Can see , Cannot use

[hopeful]

Give up citizenship can withdraw all the CPF. can retire elsewhere.

an interesting item.
http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/Overseas/LivO9.htm

Refund of CPF
If you are an ex-Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) and wish to return as a PR again, you would need to refund the full CPF amount you had previously withdrawn. A Letter of Clearance would then be issued to you for your submission to the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) for completion of the PR formalities."

Question: Only refund full amount? No need to pay interest on the CPF amount withdrawn?

[The_Way_I_See_It]

Give up citizenship can withdraw all the CPF. can retire elsewhere.

an interesting item.
http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/Overseas/LivO9.htm

Refund of CPF
If you are an ex-Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) and wish to return as a PR again, you would need to refund the full CPF amount you had previously withdrawn. A Letter of Clearance would then be issued to you for your submission to the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) for completion of the PR formalities."

Question: Only refund full amount? No need to pay interest on the CPF amount withdrawn?

Now you see why those discerning those FT/PR would die die remain as PR status and not converting to Full CitizenSHIT ... The gahment have shot their own UNTHINKING Foot !!!

B'cos PR WILL Not have this disadvantage .. and PR remains a PREMIUM paper over CITIZENSHIT ..as PR you can Come and GO ..and RETURN to this Pro-foreign aligned policy country.. Only one in the world .. That's why we are truely indeed UNIQUELY SINGAPORE ..

and it villify the fact why we are unconsciously becoming 2nd class 3rd class people in our own homeland (need to do NS to protect who ???, BTW why do we need to buy 71 F135 for $9 Billion ?? for what n who ??).. and if we have 50% foreigners in our homeland in 2030 (really for very own economic survival ??? ) . Myopic ..What Pledge do you want to your children, grand children to say (sorri utter ) in school in 2030 ?? After all it is just an aspiration and can do away with ??
Are you still as patrotic as a Singaporean in 2030 or a bunch of economic strugglers fighting against a bunch of PR/FT in your homeland ?

The people in Hong LIm Park are there for this Raison d'être - are we still Singaporeans ???

[radha08]

I don't really care. depend on one self to make money, I don't beg from people or government to feed me.

but the forced savings really good for the majority of the people. They don't save, indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification when they are working.

agree

[eng81157]

I don't really care. depend on one self to make money, I don't beg from people or government to feed me.

but the forced savings really good for the majority of the people. They don't save, indulge in gambling, womanizing, instant gratification when they are working.

i don't agree with the assumption that retirees use their CPF to gamble, womanize, etc etc. at least 50% of the population are women and i don't think they fool around largely

i don't agree that we need the government to force us to save, in the guise of protecting us. if so, why can't it be fixed deposit, govt bonds? why CPF?

there can be ways to do this

1. voluntary opt-in system
2. provide incentives for those who opt-in

don't keep taking our retirements to go fund some mumbo jumbo temasek/GIC investment and please, don't think we are dumbos to believe the lies

[eng81157]

and to cite another example, use of CPF monies for education

1. Parent pay for child's education from CPF = child taking a loan from parent

2. Parent decides it is his/her responsibility to provide for the child and decides that child does not need to pay back

3. CPF does not allow and requires child to pay back plus interest into parent's account

4. This raises the question = does the parent actually own the money in his/her account? tranposing into another scenario, I lend Ah Meng money (taken from my bank account) to gamble and Ah Meng doesn't want to pay me back. Out of goodwill, I cancel the debt out of friendship - can the bank insist Ah Meng on paying back the debt?

5. CPF claims that the child needs to pay back the capital, plus interest, due to its opportunity loss. Sorry, who's loss is it - parent's or CPF? This brings us back to the question - do I actually own the money in my CPF account?

[alamak]

and to cite another example, use of CPF monies for education

1. Parent pay for child's education from CPF = child taking a loan from parent

2. Parent decides it is his/her responsibility to provide for the child and decides that child does not need to pay back

3. CPF does not allow and requires child to pay back plus interest into parent's account

4. This raises the question = does the parent actually own the money in his/her account? tranposing into another scenario, I lend Ah Meng money (taken from my bank account) to gamble and Ah Meng doesn't want to pay me back. Out of goodwill, I cancel the debt out of friendship - can the bank insist Ah Meng on paying back the debt?

5. CPF claims that the child needs to pay back the capital, plus interest, due to its opportunity loss. Sorry, who's loss is it - parent's or CPF? This brings us back to the question - do I actually own the money in my CPF account?

Funny thing is that CPF matters are never debated in ParLiament and out of the blue become a new law ??? No one can ask, no one can refute , no (white, green or tissue ?) paper on it, no proposal , just a announcement by CPF Board, just like that also can . Uniquely Singapore

[hopeful]

......
4. This raises the question = does the parent actually own the money in his/her account? tranposing into another scenario, I lend Ah Meng money (taken from my bank account) to gamble and Ah Meng doesn't want to pay me back. Out of goodwill, I cancel the debt out of friendship - can the bank insist Ah Meng on paying back the debt?

5. CPF claims that the child needs to pay back the capital, plus interest, due to its opportunity loss. Sorry, who's loss is it - parent's or CPF? This brings us back to the question - do I actually own the money in my CPF account?

Sorry. you dont owe the money once the money is in cpf. you only have a claim against the cpf.
similarly when you deposit money in a bank, the money is no longer yours. it belongs to the bank. you become a creditor to the bank.

if you notice, cpf can only be used to buy paper stuff and immovable goods like real estate. you cannot use cpf to buy movable real goods like physical gold.

[eng81157]

Sorry. you dont owe the money once the money is in cpf. you only have a claim against the cpf.
similarly when you deposit money in a bank, the money is no longer yours. it belongs to the bank. you become a creditor to the bank.

if you notice, cpf can only be used to buy paper stuff and immovable goods like real estate. you cannot use cpf to buy movable real goods like physical gold.

this is the fundamental key - we are creditors to the bank. i can withdraw my money anytime i want, transfer anytime i want, or leave it there. i can do whatever i want with my money and the bank can't do shit about it. remember joker burning up his pile of cash in TDK?

if i am a creditor to CPF, then why should CPF impose rules, increasingly and restrictively, on me?

so in the case of using CPF for education, CPF does NOT give out loans, but it's a deduction from specific CPF accounts. hence, it is clear that the child does NOT owe a debt to CPF.

[darkseed73]

Sorry. you dont owe the money once the money is in cpf. you only have a claim against the cpf.
similarly when you deposit money in a bank, the money is no longer yours. it belongs to the bank. you become a creditor to the bank.

if you notice, cpf can only be used to buy paper stuff and immovable goods like real estate. you cannot use cpf to buy movable real goods like physical gold.

This is an interesting point of view.

I once discuss with a US friend regarding their social security and medicial fees - foreigners actually thinks CPF is a great way to protect citizen from becoming a burden to the country.

Anyways, if I am a creditor and I "use" my own money to buy real estate. Why must I pay CPF interest?? I find this part insane.

[eng81157]

Anyways, if I am a creditor and I "use" my own money to buy real estate. Why must I pay CPF interest?? I find this part insane.

precisely, it's BS.

[hopeful]

this is the fundamental key - we are creditors to the bank. i can withdraw my money anytime i want, transfer anytime i want, or leave it there. i can do whatever i want with my money and the bank can't do shit about it. remember joker burning up his pile of cash in TDK?

if i am a creditor to CPF, then why should CPF impose rules, increasingly and restrictively, on me?

so in the case of using CPF for education, CPF does NOT give out loans, but it's a deduction from specific CPF accounts. hence, it is clear that the child does NOT owe a debt to CPF.

No. banks and cpf are the same. the only reason you can withdraw money anytime you want from banks is because the government/banks see no reason to restrict you yet. if the government/banks want to restrict you, they can pass some regulations, just like they did with cpf.
you can check whether the bank of cyprus' depositors can withdraw all their money. the short ans: no they can't.

if you put money in a bank, it is between you and the bank.
if you hold physical paper notes, it is between you and the singapore govt.