Pension
In Singapore, the retirement age is 63, and the re-employment age is 68. By 2030, they will be 65 and 70, respectively. Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a mandatory social security savings scheme, with the sources of funds being employers and employees. Employees can meet their retirement, housing, and healthcare needs by contributing to the Central Provident Fund. The funding goes into 3 accounts:
- Ordinary Account (OA) for retirement and housing needs
- Special Account (SA) for retirement needs
- Medisave Account (MA) for healthcare needs
People can withdraw from their CPF savings at the age of 55. At this time, savings from the Special Account and Ordinary Account will be transferred to the Retirement Account to form the retirement sum. After reaching 65, people will receive monthly payouts from their CPF savings. The monthly pension amount depends on the basic retirement sum at the age of 55.
Singapore provides the government-funded Silver Support Scheme to support eligible low-income elderly individuals. People are not required to apply for Silver support; they will be assessed automatically for eligibility. The payout ranges from SGD 430 to SGD 1,080 per quarter.
Dependents/Survivors Benefits
The Central Provident Fund of Singapore offers benefits to the named nominees of a deceased employee. Employee's savings in the Ordinary, Special, MediSave, and Retirement accounts are paid to the nominees as a lump sum.
Under the Work Injury Compensation Act of Singapore, the family or dependents of an employee can claim a lump sum when a work injury causes the employee's death. The amount is calculated based on employee's average monthly earnings and age multiplying factor. The lump-sum varies from SGD 76,000 to SGD 225,000 from January 1, 2020. This benefit is provided by the employer.
Invalidity Benefits
The Central Provident Fund of Singapore offers a severe disability insurance scheme named ElderShield. It provides a monthly cash payout of up to 72 months to people with severe disabilities. No registration or assessment is needed; CPF members with a MediSave Account will automatically enroll in the program when they reach 40 years of age. The monthly cash payout for severe disability is SGD 400 (Singapore dollars) for a maximum of 72 months. Employees can also use MediSave savings to pay for personal or immediate family hospitalization, day surgery, and certain outpatient expenses.
Employees who suffer a temporary or permanent disability due to a work accident or occupational disease are entitled to compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act. For temporary disability, a daily allowance is paid for up to one year. For permanent disability, lump-sum compensation is paid as an employee's average monthly earnings multiplied by the age factor multiplied by the degree of disability.