The Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) for 2026 is $79,000, up from $75,500 in 2025. It is the most MediSave can hold, and the savings target CPF reckons you need by old age to cover subsidised healthcare. If you are under 65, the figure rises a little each January. The year you turn 65 it freezes at that year's amount for the rest of your life. Once your MediSave Account hits the BHS, new MediSave contributions do not vanish; they overflow into your Special, Retirement or Ordinary Account, where they keep earning interest. This guide covers the 2026 number, the full history, exactly where the overflow goes, what MediSave pays for, and the top-up moves that still work after you are capped.
The BHS is CPF's estimate of how much MediSave you need by old age to pay for basic subsidised healthcare. CPF sets it as a moving target, then makes it the ceiling on your MediSave Account (MA). You cannot voluntarily hold more than the BHS in MediSave, and once you reach it, the cap does its job: it stops your healthcare pot from growing past what CPF thinks you need, and pushes the rest of your contributions towards retirement instead.
It is the same idea as the retirement sums, but for healthcare rather than income. Where the Basic, Full and Enhanced Retirement Sums decide your monthly CPF LIFE payout, the BHS decides how much of your CPF stays earmarked for medical bills. Both are reviewed yearly, both freeze for your cohort at a milestone age, and both quietly redirect money once you cross the line.
For 2026, CPF set the BHS at $79,000. That applies to every member who has not yet turned 65. The number is the same whether you are 28 or 64, because for everyone under 65 the BHS is the prevailing figure, not a personal amount.
CPF raised the BHS from $75,500 in 2025 to $79,000 from 1 January 2026, an increase of $3,500 or about 4.6%. CPF adjusts the figure each year for members below 65 to keep pace with how much subsidised healthcare actually costs, so the rise tracks medical spending rather than general inflation.
There are two ways the BHS can apply to you, and the difference matters once you near 65. If you are below 65, the prevailing BHS applies and changes every January. If you turn 65 during the year, that year's BHS becomes your personal lifetime figure and never moves again, even as later cohorts get higher numbers.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| BHS for 2026 (members below 65) | $79,000 |
| BHS for 2025 (members below 65) | $75,500 |
| Year-on-year increase | $3,500 (about 4.6%) |
| Effective from | 1 January 2026 |
The year you turn 65, your BHS locks to that year's amount and stays there for life. Someone born in 1961 turns 65 in 2026, so their lifetime BHS is $79,000. Someone who turned 65 in 2020 is fixed at $60,000 and will never see it rise, even though the prevailing figure for younger members keeps climbing.
This is why two retirees can have very different MediSave ceilings. The freeze is based purely on the year you hit 65, not on how much you have saved. Below is the cohort history straight from CPF, useful if you are checking a parent's cap or working out your own future ceiling.
| Year turned 65 | Birth year | Lifetime BHS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1961 | $79,000 |
| 2025 | 1960 | $75,500 |
| 2024 | 1959 | $71,500 |
| 2023 | 1958 | $68,500 |
| 2022 | 1957 | $66,000 |
| 2021 | 1956 | $63,000 |
| 2020 | 1955 | $60,000 |
| 2019 | 1954 | $57,200 |
| 2018 | 1953 | $54,500 |
| 2017 | 1952 | $52,000 |
| 2016 or earlier | 1951 or earlier | $49,800 |
Hitting the BHS does not cost you anything. Your MediSave contributions from work continue, but the part that would have gone into a full MediSave Account is redirected to another CPF account, where it earns interest at that account's rate. Nothing is lost and nothing is refunded to your bank.
Where the overflow lands depends on your age and whether you have already set aside your Full Retirement Sum. The order is fixed by CPF.
Excess MediSave first flows to your Special Account until you reach the Full Retirement Sum, which is $220,400 for 2026. The Special Account earns 4% per year, the same long-term floor rate as MediSave, so the money keeps compounding at the higher rate. Only once your Special Account holds the FRS does any further overflow go to your Ordinary Account, which earns 2.5%.
From 2025, the Special Account is closed once you turn 55. So excess MediSave instead flows to your Retirement Account up to the Full Retirement Sum, where it earns 4% and feeds your CPF LIFE payout. If your Retirement Account already holds the FRS, whether in cash or as cash plus a property pledge, the overflow goes to your Ordinary Account at 2.5%. That money is yours to withdraw.
Picture a 40-year-old whose MediSave hit $79,000 in February 2026. Her January contribution had topped up the account, so the March contribution has nowhere to go inside MediSave. CPF redirects that month's MediSave share to her Special Account, where it sits below the 2026 Full Retirement Sum of $220,400 and earns 4%, plus the extra 1% on the part still within her first $60,000 of combined balances. Nothing is refunded to her bank and nothing is wasted; her healthcare pot stays full at $79,000 while the surplus quietly builds her retirement instead.
Run the same person forward to 56. The Special Account is gone, so the overflow now goes to her Retirement Account up to the FRS, still at 4%, and starts buying a larger CPF LIFE payout. Only once her Retirement Account holds the full FRS, in cash or cash plus a property pledge, does any further MediSave overflow land in the Ordinary Account at 2.5%, where it is hers to withdraw.
Where your overflow lands matters because each CPF account pays a different rate, and the 2026 rates make the redirect work in your favour. From 1 January to 31 March 2026, CPF held the Ordinary Account at 2.5% and the Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts at 4%. Both are floor rates: the market-pegged formulas came out below the floors, so CPF paid the guaranteed minimum instead. So overflow that reaches your Special or Retirement Account keeps earning the same 4% your MediSave was paying, while overflow that reaches the Ordinary Account drops to 2.5%.
On top of the base rates, CPF pays extra interest you do not have to do anything to earn, and it lifts the effective return on the first slice of your balances. If you are below 55, you get an extra 1% on the first $60,000 of your combined CPF balances, with the Ordinary Account portion of that counted up to $20,000. If you are 55 or older, you get an extra 2% on the first $30,000 and an extra 1% on the next $30,000. The extra interest is one reason overflow into the Special or Retirement Account can compound at an effective 5% or 6% on that first tranche, well ahead of anything a bank pays.
| Account | Base rate | Where BHS overflow can land |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Account (OA) | 2.5% | Last, after the FRS is set aside |
| Special Account (SA, below 55) | 4% | First, up to the Full Retirement Sum |
| Retirement Account (RA, 55+) | 4% | First, up to the Full Retirement Sum |
| MediSave Account (MA) | 4% | Capped at the BHS, $79,000 |
The BHS only matters because MediSave is the most ring-fenced of your CPF accounts. You cannot spend it on a flat or a holiday. It pays for a defined list of healthcare costs, for you and approved family members.
You can add to MediSave voluntarily with cash, and many people do for the tax relief and the 4% interest. The catch is the BHS: a voluntary top-up can only bring your MediSave up to the prevailing $79,000, not past it. If you are already at or near the cap, the top-up either gets rejected or the excess is returned.
Voluntary cash top-ups to MediSave qualify for tax relief under the CPF Cash Top-up Relief, capped at $8,000 for top-ups to yourself and $8,000 for top-ups to family members each year, and counted within the total $80,000 personal income tax relief cap set by IRAS. If you are choosing between topping up MediSave for healthcare or your retirement account for income, weigh it with the MediSave versus Retirement Account top-up guide and the income tax calculator.
A second ceiling sits behind the BHS. The CPF Annual Limit, $37,740 in 2026, caps the total of all CPF contributions you can make in a year, mandatory and voluntary together. A voluntary MediSave top-up has to fit under both the BHS and what is left of the Annual Limit after your work contributions. Anything that breaches the Annual Limit is refunded the following year without interest, so it pays to size a top-up against your year's mandatory contributions first.
Even after you hit the BHS, contributions do not stop being useful. The overflow that lands in your Special, Retirement or Ordinary Account is still your money earning CPF interest. So the cap is less a wall and more a redirect: past $79,000, CPF simply moves your healthcare surplus towards retirement.
If you are self-employed and earned more than $6,000 in net trade income for the year, you must contribute to MediSave under the Self-Employed Scheme. The rate runs from 4% to 10.5% of net trade income depending on your age and income, and your liability is capped once your MediSave reaches the prevailing BHS of $79,000.
In practice that means once your MediSave Account is full, your compulsory MediSave contribution for the year drops, because you cannot be made to pay into an account that is already at its ceiling. Settle the bill, or be on an instalment plan for it, before you make any voluntary CPF top-ups that count for tax relief. The mechanics are in the self-employed MediSave guide, and you can size your own obligation with the CPF contribution calculator.
From 1 January 2026, the Matched MediSave Scheme (MMSS) gives a dollar-for-dollar government match on voluntary cash top-ups to MediSave for eligible Singapore Citizens aged 55 to 70 with lower MediSave balances and lower incomes. The match is capped at $1,000 a year, and the scheme runs as a five-year pilot from 2026 to 2030.
The point of the scheme is to lift the MediSave of people sitting well below the BHS, broadly those holding under half the current $79,000. If you have an eligible parent or relative, a $1,000 top-up that becomes $2,000 in their MediSave is one of the cleaner returns available, since the match is free and the balance earns 4%. The top-up still cannot push them above their BHS. CPF notifies eligible members in early 2026, so the simplest check is to look at their statement or wait for the letter rather than guess at the criteria.
Whether someone qualifies turns on five conditions, all of which must hold. Self-employed members also need their compulsory MediSave settled, or be on an instalment plan for it, before a top-up can be matched.
| Condition | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | Singapore Citizen |
| Age | 55 to 70 years old |
| MediSave balance | Below $39,500 (half the 2026 BHS) |
| Average monthly income | Not more than $4,000 |
| Annual Value of home | Not more than $21,000, owning no more than one property |
| Government match | Dollar-for-dollar, capped at $1,000 a year |
You never have to calculate your BHS by hand. If you are below 65 it is simply the prevailing $79,000; if you are 65 or older it is whatever the figure was the year you turned 65, which you can read off the cohort table above. What changes person to person is how close your MediSave already sits to that line, and that is the number worth knowing before you top up or worry about overflow.
The BHS climbs because subsidised healthcare costs more each year, and because each younger cohort is expected to live longer and use more of it. The roughly 4 to 5% annual increases of the last few years are likely to continue while you are under 65, then stop dead the year you turn 65.
For most working adults the practical takeaways are short. You do not need to force MediSave to the BHS; ordinary CPF contributions usually get you there over a career. If you are self-employed, keep your MediSave liability paid so it does not snowball. If you want tax relief, a MediSave top-up works only up to $79,000, after which a Retirement Account top-up may be the better use of the same cash. And if you have an older relative who qualifies for the Matched MediSave Scheme, the free match is worth claiming before the pilot ends in 2030.
The Basic Healthcare Sum is $79,000 for 2026, up from $75,500 in 2025. It applies to every CPF member who has not yet turned 65 and took effect on 1 January 2026. It is the most you can hold in your MediSave Account.
No. The year you turn 65, your BHS freezes at that year's amount for the rest of your life. If you turn 65 in 2026, your lifetime BHS is $79,000 and it will not rise again, even though younger members keep getting higher figures each year.
Your MediSave contributions continue, but the excess overflows to another CPF account where it keeps earning interest. If you are below 55, it goes to your Special Account up to the Full Retirement Sum, then to your Ordinary Account. If you are 55 or older, it goes to your Retirement Account up to the FRS, then to your Ordinary Account.
No. Voluntary cash top-ups can only bring your MediSave up to the prevailing BHS of $79,000, not past it. Any amount above the cap is rejected or returned. Once you are at the cap, a Retirement Account top-up may be a better use of the cash if you want tax relief.
No. Nothing is lost. The amount that would have exceeded the BHS is redirected to your Special, Retirement or Ordinary Account, all of which earn CPF interest. The Special and Retirement Accounts pay 4%, the Ordinary Account pays 2.5%.
Self-employed persons who earned over $6,000 in net trade income must contribute to MediSave, at 4% to 10.5% of net trade income depending on age and income. Your compulsory contribution is capped once your MediSave reaches the prevailing BHS of $79,000, because you cannot be required to pay into a full account.
MediSave pays for MediShield Life, Integrated Shield Plan and CareShield Life or ElderShield premiums, hospitalisation and day surgery, and approved outpatient treatments such as chronic disease care, vaccinations and screenings under the MediSave500 and MediSave700 schemes, for you and approved dependants.
Log in to the CPF website or app with Singpass and open your account balances. Your MediSave balance and the prevailing BHS of $79,000 appear together. Subtract your balance from $79,000 to see your remaining top-up headroom; if it is zero or less, you are capped and further contributions overflow. Your yearly CPF statement also shows the BHS that applied and any overflow that was redirected.
It depends on the account. From 1 January to 31 March 2026, overflow into the Special or Retirement Account earns the floor rate of 4%, the same as MediSave, while overflow into the Ordinary Account earns 2.5%. Extra interest adds 1% on the first $60,000 of combined balances for members below 55, and 2% on the first $30,000 plus 1% on the next $30,000 for members 55 and older.
Singapore Citizens aged 55 to 70 with a MediSave balance below $39,500, average monthly income of $4,000 or less, an Annual Value of home not above $21,000, and ownership of no more than one property. CPF matches voluntary cash top-ups dollar for dollar, up to $1,000 a year, across the 2026 to 2030 pilot. CPF notifies eligible members in early 2026.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.