CPF

CPF

Postby ishak » Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:19 pm

Minimum Sum Top-ups and Education Changes
16 Sep 2008

Acting Minister for Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong spoke in Parliament on 16 September 2008 on encouraging voluntary savings and refinements to the CPF Education Scheme. Please see below for more details:

ENCOURAGING VOLUNTARY SAVINGS –
CHANGES TO THE MINIMUM SUM TOPPING-UP SCHEME

The CPF Minimum Sum (MS) Topping-Up Scheme allows members to voluntarily top up their own and family members’ CPF Accounts to build up the Minimum Sum, using either cash or CPF funds. To encourage greater participation, the rules for cash top-ups will be simplified with effect from 1 November 2008.

The 3 main changes to the rules for cash top-ups are, to:

a. Remove the existing annual cap on cash top-ups to recipients below age 55. Under current rules, the cash top-ups combined with other CPF contribution cannot exceed $26,393 per year. The annual cap on the amount of top-ups one can receive will now be removed.

b. Expand the list of recipients by removing restrictions on recipient’s age and relationship with givers. This will allow anyone, including extended family members and employers to top up any CPF member’s MS using cash.

c. Additional tax relief. Currently, the total tax relief for cash top-ups is capped at $7,000 per Year of Assessment (YA). From YA2009, a member can receive 2 separate tax reliefs -

i. up to $7,000 for MS cash top-ups by the member or his employer to his own MS, and
ii. up to $7,000 for cash top-ups to the MS of family members.

Both reliefs will apply regardless of the age of the recipient when the top-ups are made. Employers who make the top-ups will receive tax deduction for the top-ups made.

http://ask-us.cpf.gov.sg/explorefaq.asp?category=23629
http://ask-us.cpf.gov.sg/explorefaq.asp?category=23018

REFINEMENTS TO THE CPF EDUCATION SCHEME

The CPF Education Scheme was introduced in 1989 as a concession to allow members to use their Ordinary Account savings to pay for their children’s or their own basic full-time education.

As part of the Government’s effort to widen the opportunities for Singaporeans to upgrade themselves, there are now Government subsidised degree and diploma courses offered by local institutions where the qualification is conferred by a reputable foreign institution. These include degree courses under the Polytechnic-Foreign Specialised Institution (Poly-FSI) framework and ITE’s Technical Engineering Diploma (TED) courses. CPF savings may be used for such courses as they are similar to those offered by the approved local tertiary institutions except that the qualifications are conferred by foreign institutions.
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Mutual Funds

Postby millionairemind » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:18 pm

Dec 26, 2009
Don't fall for the lure
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

THE lure of getting their hands on some quick cash from their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings is leading Singaporeans into a minefield with no end of legal and financial risks.

And if you are found guilty of violating CPF rules, you may find yourself poorer by as much as $10,000 or more.

The experience of Mr George Low (not his real name) illustrates the dangers.

He rang a mobile phone number from an advertisement aimed at people who needed fast money. A financial adviser asked for his CPF statement, which indicated that Mr Low had $100,000 available for investments.

The adviser began to invest Mr Low's $100,000 in a unit trust under the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS).

The sales charge for each transaction was 3 per cent of the investment sum, with the adviser getting a cut. In turn, he gave Mr Low a cash rebate of 1 per cent of the sum invested. In this case it was $1,000.
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Re: CPF

Postby kennynah » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:30 pm

but i understand that all investment schemes that could tap onto our CPF must be approved by CPF/MAS? so, how could this take place?
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Singapore - Residential Properties & HDB 4 (Jan10 - Mar10)

Postby millionairemind » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:17 pm

Looks like we will all be crossing over to JB for our surgeries if we do not have enough money to go to Singapore's hospital.

Feb 10, 2010
Use of Medisave overseas

SINGAPORE residents will be able to use their Medisave to help pay for their hospitalisation overseas under certain conditions from March 1, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

Currently, they can only do so for emergency hospitalisation.

The move follows a dialogue with NTUC union leaders, who had asked for the scheme to be extended to elective hospitalisation overseas, to give patients a wider choice and allow them to take advantage of the lower cost of hospitalisation overseas.

'MOH has studied the suggestion. Our concern is quality of care and potential abuses, both of which will not be in the patients' interest. We have decided to try it out,' said a statement from MOH.

For the extension, the following additional conditions will apply, besides the existing conditions applicable to treatment in Singapore:

* Medisave usage will only be limited to hospitalisations and day surgeries, meaning it cannot be used for outpatient treatment.

* The overseas hospital must have an approved working arrangement with a Medisave-accredited institution or referral centre in Singapore.

* The patient must be referred through a Medisave-accredited institution/referral centre in Singapore.

* The local centre must provide pre-admission clinical assessment and financial counselling to the interested patient.

* The local centre will be accountable for patient satisfaction and the clinical outcome.

MOH said the scheme will start off with two providers: Health Management International (HMI) and Parkway Holdings.

HMI has set up its local Medisave-accredited referrel centre at its Balestier Clinic and Health Screening Centre. It will work with its two overseas subsidiaries: Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Bahru and Makhota Medical Centre in Malacca.

Parkway Holdings has set up a Medisave-accredited referral centre at East Shore Hospital. It will partner nine hospitals under the Pantai group in different states of Malaysia, as well as the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

Patients interested in making use of this scheme may approach the two healthcare providers directly.
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Re: Singapore - Residential Properties & HDB 4 (Jan10 - Mar10)

Postby kennynah » Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:10 pm

if i am not mistaken,

unlike Ordinary and Special Account money, Medisave money cannot be withdrawn...it is for the purpose paying for hospitalisation and associated medical treatment bill...but even so, the rules of usage are so complex that i am quite confused...eg, recently, an old relative had to remove cataract from one eye at Alexandra Hospital...the eye doctor said it had to be removed soon or else risk becoming blind...

for this operation, the family could only use $800 from medisave to pay and the remainder in cash... so, there's a maximum cap...apparently, CPF didn't think that blindness is serious enough to warrant the bill to be fully paid by medisave... they probably thought all lasik treatment are for cosmetic and convenience reasons...

i am glad that now medisave money can be used in more places....that should be the case...Medisave is you money and my mine...it is NOT ah gong's money....who are they to dictate what and how we can use our own money?

do you still need to be treated like children?
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Re: Singapore - Residential Properties & HDB 4 (Jan10 - Mar10)

Postby millionairemind » Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:17 pm

K - I understand your frustrations. ALot of Singaporeans are not cash rich, even though they might have lots of money in the CPF. Most of them cannot last 6 months without a job and if they had to be hospitalized when they are out of a job... :(

My brother was recently in East Shore Hospital for cataracts removal too. The total cost was around 5.5k. Medisave paid only $2.6K and the rest was to be paid in cash.

Luckily he bot hospitalization insurance (cos he is self-employed) and it covered the out of pocket expenses.

Normally insurance does not cover day surgery. However, as this is East Shore Hospital, they do allow you to stay overnight to recuperate and hence it qualifies for full insurance coverage.

I also buy additional insurance coverage for my family to cover the deductibles and out of pocket expenses, over and above the mandated Medishield.
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Re: Singapore - Residential Properties & HDB 4 (Jan10 - Mar10)

Postby Musicwhiz » Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:24 pm

millionairemind wrote:K - I understand your frustrations. ALot of Singaporeans are not cash rich, even though they might have lots of money in the CPF. Most of them cannot last 6 months without a job and if they had to be hospitalized when they are out of a job... :(



Wow this statistic is pretty scary. I hope I've saved up enough cash buffer and have enough insurance in case of any emergencies. Currently I keep about 1 year's worth of expenses just in case...... :?
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Re: CPF

Postby millionairemind » Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:34 pm

Actually not too surprising. Singaporeans (esp. the younger ones) then to overstretch themselves cos' they don't plan far ahead. They don't plan for children 5 yrs down the road, a marriage (which ever comes first), ageism and discrimination, sudden sickness and being out of a job.

When I started working, I looked at the older relatives and noticed that no matter how good you are, age discrimination is alive and well in Singapore. One is considered "over the top" at age 40.

Just read the statistics. The chronically unemployed among graduates age 35-40 is at an all time high.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2B ... 30379.html

The next time one drools over the $1MM condo, one better have a rock solid foundation (preferably in cash) :D
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Re: CPF

Postby Musicwhiz » Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:42 pm

Wow that's a very scary thing indeed! And yet many graduates are buying expensive property without considering the ramifications of their actions, many years down the road.

Of course, the argument is that these people buy in order to sell at a profit in an ever-rising property market! :shock:

But if what you portrayed is true, in ten years time we may see a lot of couples having problems with their mortgages....... :?
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Re: CPF

Postby iam802 » Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:46 pm

Here's the bet of the year(s)..then.

If they are having mortgage problems...that could means:
- property market not going up
- economy not going up
- salaries not going up
- gahmen productivity and competence level not going up. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
1. Always wait for the setup. NO SETUP; NO TRADE

2. The trend will END but I don't know WHEN.

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