CPF Board Hopes To Teach Students About CPF Earlier, So It’s Less Cheem When They’re Adults

CPF Board Teaches Secondary & Tertiary Students About Financial Literacy Via Games

Millennials currently struggling with adulting can attest to the overwhelming feeling of learning how the Central Provident Fund (CPF) works only after getting your first paycheck.

Granted, understanding how CPF works isn’t exactly the most straightforward process. Now it seems like CPF Board has caught on to the problem.

CPF Board announced plans on Wednesday (24 Jul), via a Straits Times article, to roll out more lessons for Secondary and Tertiary students to better understand “financial literacy”, and how their own CPF accounts will work in the future.

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We’re glad that CPF Board is starting young with the new batch of future working adults, but how exactly will they make everything seem less cheem to our young ones?

Financial literacy class helps students “develop an appreciation for CPF”

A financial literary class conducted by CPF Board at Guangyang Secondary School was highlighted by The Straits Times on 24 Jul.

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According to the ST article, these lessons were meant to promote these habits in students:

1. Start saving early
2. Develop an “appreciation for CPF”

250 students participated in a “game-show assembly” to play “interactive board games” that helped them understand how “compound interest” works.

A student named Matthew, who went through the class, shared with ST that he learnt that “CPF money” may be used to pay for “healthcare and property”.

And more importantly, why it’s crucial to begin “save early” for his future.

JC students use “game machines” to learn about CPF

The outreach programme by CPF began as early as February this year.

With more than 40 secondary & tertiary institutions under their belt, CPF Board plans to continue efforts to educate students about what CPF entails in the near future.

From 2019, ITE and Year 1 Polytechnic students will also have a compulsory module on financial literacy, reports The Straits Times.

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Thankfully for students, this module won’t be graded but will cover how compound interest works on accumulating debt and savings alike.

Plans for other modules targeted at senior students in these institutions will include how “insurance, investments and…CPF work”.

Financial literacy is key, but at what cost?

While we think this is a good measure and a step in the right direction to promote financial literacy among our children, will this help put a stop to misunderstanding how CPF works?

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In recent months, viral posts circulating about when the CPF retirement age is, or whether it may be used to treat a loved one’s terminal illness, coupled with new rulings on home owner’s leases have shown that CPF is still a prickly topic for many Singaporeans.

The next step, hopefully, will be to simplify the mechanics of gaining access to our CPF savings — or at least making communication clearer and simpler to avoid misunderstandings with the public.

Do you think these outreach programmes for students will help Singaporeans better appreciate and understand CPF? Sound out in the comments below.

Featured image from The Straits Times and Google Maps.