SINGAPORE — The four per cent floor rate for interest earned on all Special, MediSave and Retirement account (SMRA) monies has been extended for another year until Dec 31, 2025.
In a joint statement on Sept 20, the Housing Board and Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board said the extension from Jan 1, 2025, will "continue to provide CPF members with certainty on the returns of their CPF savings amidst the volatile interest rate environment".
Since 2008, savings in SMRAs have been invested in Special Singapore Government Securities, which earn an interest rate pegged to the 12-month average yield of 10-year Singapore Government Securities plus one per cent.
All interest rates are quoted on a per annum basis.
From Oct 1 to Dec 31, the SMRA interest rate will be set at 4.14 per cent, up from the 4.08 per cent in the third quarter, due to the pegged rate exceeding the floor rate of 4 per cent.
The Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate will remain unchanged at 2.5 per cent from Oct 1 to Dec 31, as the OA pegged rate remains below the floor rate of 2.5 per cent.
Correspondingly, the concessionary interest rate for HDB housing loans, which is pegged at 0.1 per cent above the OA interest rate, will remain unchanged at 2.6 per cent in the fourth quarter.
As part of the Government's efforts to boost CPF members' retirement savings, members will continue to earn extra interest on their CPF savings.
CPF members below 55 years old will continue to earn an extra one per cent interest on the first $60,000 of their combined account balances, capped at $20,000 for the OA.
Those aged 55 and above will continue to earn an extra two per cent interest on the first $30,000 of their combined balances, capped at $20,000 for the OA, and an extra one per cent on the next $30,000.
The extra interest earned on the OA balances will go into the member's Special Account or Retirement Account. If a member is aged above 55 and participates in CPF Life, the extra interest will still be earned on his or her combined CPF balances, which include the savings used for CPF Life.
CPF Life provides monthly payouts to CPF members for as long as they live, even after the savings in their Retirement Account have been depleted.
For more information on CPF interest rates and their computation, please visit the CPF website.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
