Monday, January 16, 2012

What if CPF minimum sum continues to increase at its current rate

The CPF minimum sum has been increasing for the past 8-9 years. Back in Jul 2003, the minimum sum was 80k. In Jul 2011, it became 131k. This works out to be a 6.35% per annum. 

Extracted from CPF website:
So, what if the minimum sum continues to increase at this 6.35% per year for the next 30-40 years? 

Below is a projection of the CPF minimum sum based on this rate. Based on this projection, by Jul 2042 (30.5 years from now), we will be looking at a minimum sum of more than 880k !!

Year
Projected CPF minimum sum
Actual CPF minimum sum
2003
80,000.00
80,000.00
2004
85,080.00
84,500.00
2005
90,482.58
90,000.00
2006
96,228.22
94,600.00
2007
102,338.72
99,600.00
2008
108,837.22
106,000.00
2009
115,748.39
117,000.00
2010
123,098.41
123,000.00
2011
130,915.16
131,000.00
2012
139,228.27

2013
148,069.27

2014
157,471.67

2015
167,471.12

2016
178,105.53

2017
189,415.23

2018
201,443.10

2019
214,234.74

2020
227,838.64

2021
242,306.40

2022
257,692.86

2023
274,056.35

2024
291,458.93

2025
309,966.57

2026
329,649.45

2027
350,582.19

2028
372,844.16

2029
396,519.76

2030
421,698.77

2031
448,476.64

2032
476,954.91

2033
507,241.54

2034
539,451.38

2035
573,706.54

2036
610,136.91

2037
648,880.60

2038
690,084.52

2039
733,904.89

2040
780,507.85

2041
830,070.10

2042
882,779.55



The CPF board said that the minimum sum will be "raised gradually" until it reaches 120k (in 2003 dollars) in 2013. These amounts will be adjusted yearly for inflation. I suspect that the 6.35% increase per year we have observed was for both the target minimum sum of 120k (in 2003 dollars), along with the inflation. After 2013, the rate of increase should be lower as it is based on inflation only. 
The inflation rate in Singapore is about 2-3% per year. Using an inflation rate of 3% per year after 2013, the minimum sum projection will be something like this:

Year
Projected CPF minimum sum
 (based on 3% inflation only after 2013)
Actual CPF minimum sum
2003
80,000.00
80,000.00
2004
85,080.00
84,500.00
2005
90,482.58
90,000.00
2006
96,228.22
94,600.00
2007
102,338.72
99,600.00
2008
108,837.22
106,000.00
2009
115,748.39
117,000.00
2010
123,098.41
123,000.00
2011
130,915.16
131,000.00
2012
139,228.27

2013
148,069.27

2014
152,511.35

2015
157,086.69

2016
161,799.29

2017
166,653.27

2018
171,652.86

2019
176,802.45

2020
182,106.52

2021
187,569.72

2022
193,196.81

2023
198,992.71

2024
204,962.50

2025
211,111.37

2026
217,444.71

2027
223,968.05

2028
230,687.09

2029
237,607.71

2030
244,735.94

2031
252,078.02

2032
259,640.36

2033
267,429.57

2034
275,452.46

2035
283,716.03

2036
292,227.51

2037
300,994.34

2038
310,024.17

2039
319,324.89

2040
328,904.64

2041
338,771.78

2042
348,934.93



What should you do to ensure that you fulfill the minimum sum when you retire?
Different people have different needs. Young couples who are planning to purchase a new flat may find it difficult to attain the minimum sum with a 30 year loan to worry about. 

For people who have repaid their HDB loans fully, they may want to transfer some balances from their ordinary account (OA) to their special account (SA) to earn a higher interest rate. However, do note that this process is irreversible. Which is why this option should not be considered if you still have an outstanding HDB loan which can only be paid from your OA.

For people who will not be purchasing their HDB in the next few years may want to consider investing using their CPF-OA. The CPF OA interest rate is currently at 2.5%. Many local blue chips, preference shares or reits gives a yield of 5% or more, beating  the CPF-OA's interest easily.
One should assess his/her own situation and take into consideration of any plans for the next few years before deciding the course of action to take. 
Invest wisely. Plan Early. Retire Early. =)

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