The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board has announced that it will be closing the CPF accounts of non-Singapore citizens (SCs) or Permanent Residents (PRs).
This will take effect from 1 Apr 2024, and will only affect non-Singaporeans and non-PRs who have existing CPF accounts.
The CPF Board announced this change in a press release on Wednesday (8 Mar). According to them, this will allow the board to solely focus on the needs of Singaporeans and PRs.
Additionally, it highlighted the fact that the CPF was first established to assist with the retirement and other essential requirements of citizens and those who intend to stay in the country permanently.
Source: CPF Board, for illustration purposes only
In an accompanying factsheet, the board pointed out that from 1987 to 2003, those without citizenship or PR status in the country could make voluntary contributions to the CPF schemes. However, this ceased after 2003.
Currently, roughly 300,000 non-SCs and PRs have their own CPF accounts. These include those who made contributions before the 2003 cut-off, as well as individuals who have given up their citizenship or PR statuses here.
Ahead of the impending closure, the CPF Board advises Non-SC/PR members to transfer the existing money in their CPF balance into their personal bank accounts by 31 Mar 2024.
If they do not transfer the money out by then, their accounts will close automatically on 1 Apr 2024. Upon closure of the accounts, any remaining savings left inside will stop earning CPF interest.
However, the savings will earn the commercial Singapore bank interest rate until 31 Mar 2027.
Additionally, nothing is going to happen to the principal sum left in the closed accounts. Non-SC/PR members should still be able to transfer them out any time after 1 Apr 2024 with no issue.
Non-SC/PR members can also expect to be contacted by the CPF Board regarding this matter starting this month through the contact details the board has on file. Otherwise, those affected can also access information about the account closures through the CPF website.
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