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Sale proceeds under CPFIS-OA not automatically credited to OA due to settlement period, to facilitate reinvestments
Agent banks in Singapore are appointed by the CPF Board to reduce the processing time required for reinvestments under the CPFIS-OA, said MOM.
SINGAPORE — Sale proceeds made under the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS)-Ordinary Account are not automatically credited into the CPF Ordinary Account due to the typically short settlement period of investment products allowed under the scheme, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Agent banks are appointed by the CPF Board to maintain members' CPF Investment Account to facilitate their investment transactions using their OA savings and reduce the processing time required for reinvestments, MOM added.
MOM said this in a written reply to a question raised by Workers' Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Louis Chua, who had asked Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng to explain the rationale behind the differing treatment of sale proceeds under the CPFIS-Ordinary Account and CPFIS-Special Account.
Currently, sale proceeds from investments made under the CPFIS-Ordinary Account remain in the investment account and are not automatically credited to the CPF Ordinary Account, while sale proceeds under the CPFIS-Special Account are automatically credited into the CPF Special Account.
Under current regulations, CPF members are allowed to invest their Ordinary Account savings in a wider range of investment products, compared to investing using Special Account savings.
Also read: 6 things to note about CPF contributions in Singapore
Also read: CPF top-up for tax relief in Singapore: How and why you should do it
In the response, MOM added that members who have no intention to reinvest their Ordinary Account savings may instruct the agent bank to refund their sale proceeds from their CPF Investment Account into their Ordinary Account. The agent banks will also automatically transfer the cash balances held in the CPF Investment Account back to the Ordinary Account if the Investment Account has been inactive for two consecutive months.
How many CPF members have investment accounts?
Separately, MOM revealed that as of 30 September 2023, about 1.01 million, or 23 per cent of 4.49 million, CPF members have opened a CPF Investment Account.
Out of the 1.01 million members with a CPF Investment Account, around 50 per cent have active investments using their Ordinary Account via the CPFIS, and around four per cent are currently investing their Ordinary Account savings in Singapore Government Securities and Treasury Bills.
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