A CPF nomination is a free instruction that tells the CPF Board exactly who should receive your CPF savings when you die, and how much each person gets. Without one, your balance does not simply pass to your next of kin. It goes to the Public Trustee, which distributes it under Singapore's intestacy laws, takes up to six months, and charges a tiered administration fee out of your money. With a nomination, your nominees are paid in cash, usually within weeks, at no cost. You can make or change one online with Singpass in about ten minutes. This guide covers what a nomination covers, who can be a nominee, the cash versus Special Needs Savings Scheme choice, the witness rules, and the exact fee you avoid by doing it.
Your CPF money is not part of your estate the way your bank account is. A will does not control it. The only document that decides where your CPF savings go after you die is a CPF nomination, made directly with the CPF Board. If you never make one, your will is irrelevant to that money.
A nomination lets you name up to 15 people online and set the exact share each receives, as long as the percentages add up to 100. You can name anyone, including someone who has no CPF account of their own, such as a young child or a parent overseas. By default your nominees are paid out in cash. You can update or revoke the nomination as many times as you like, for free, whenever your circumstances change.
The contrast with the no-nomination route is stark, so it is worth seeing the two side by side before anything else.
| Factor | With a nomination | Without a nomination |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides who gets it | You | The Intestate Succession Act (or Muslim inheritance law) |
| Who distributes it | CPF Board, directly to nominees | Public Trustee's Office |
| Cost | Free | Tiered fee taken from your CPF, minimum $15, GST included, cannot be waived |
| Typical time to pay out | A few weeks | Up to six months to identify beneficiaries |
| Flexibility | Any split you choose | Fixed legal shares you cannot change |
A nomination only governs money that sits inside CPF. Plenty of CPF-linked assets fall outside it, and this is where people get caught out. Knowing the boundary tells you what else needs separate planning, such as a will or an insurance nomination.
Most people make a standard cash nomination. There is a second type built for families caring for a child with special needs, the Special Needs Savings Scheme (SNSS), which pays out monthly instead of as a lump sum. Picking the right one matters because the payout shape is very different.
This is the default. When you die, the CPF Board pays each nominee their share in cash, in one lump sum. It is the right choice for most adults naming a spouse, children or parents who can manage the money themselves. You can set it up online in minutes and change the split any time.
SNSS lets a parent leave CPF savings to a child with special needs as a steady monthly payout rather than a single sum the child may not be able to manage. You set the monthly amount at application, with a minimum of $250 a month and a minimum duration of one year. Your CPF balance at death must cover at least a year of payouts, so at the $250 minimum you need at least $3,000 left. If it cannot cover a full year, the money is paid out as a lump sum instead. SNSS is administered with the Special Needs Trust Company and must be set up in person at a CPF Service Centre after you obtain an eligibility letter.
The rules are deliberately wide so almost any working adult can do it. You can make a CPF nomination once you are 16 and of sound mind. There is no upper age limit and no fee at any age.
Your nominees can be anyone you choose. They do not need to be related to you, do not need a CPF account, and can be overseas. You assign each one a percentage, and the percentages must total 100. Online you can name up to 15 nominees; if you want more, you make the nomination in person at a service centre.
A nomination is only valid if two witnesses sign it. The witnesses must each be at least 21 and of sound mind, and they cannot be your nominees or the spouse of any nominee. This is the step most people forget when they try to do it informally.
Online, both witnesses need their own Singpass, plus their NRIC or FIN, address, email and a Singapore-registered mobile number, because they confirm the witnessing digitally. If lining up two qualifying witnesses is awkward, go to a CPF Service Centre instead, where staff act as your witnesses, so you only need to bring yourself and your nominees' details.
There are two routes, and both are free. Online is fastest if you can round up two witnesses with Singpass; in person is the fallback and the only route for SNSS or for more than 15 nominees.
Skipping the nomination is the expensive default. Your CPF savings do not go straight to your family. They are transferred to the Public Trustee's Office, which distributes them under the Intestate Succession Act 1967 for non-Muslims, or under Muslim inheritance law with an Inheritance Certificate for Muslims. Identifying who is legally entitled can take up to six months, and the office charges an administration fee out of your CPF before paying anything out.
That fee is set by the Public Trustee (Fees) Rules and follows a tiered scale, so larger balances pay more in absolute terms. It includes GST, carries a $15 minimum, and cannot be waived.
| Portion of CPF balance | Fee on that portion |
|---|---|
| First $1,000 | 2.400% |
| Next $9,000 | 1.500% |
| Next $240,000 | 0.750% |
| Next $250,000 | 0.450% |
| Amount above $500,000 | 0.300% |
On a $250,000 CPF balance, that works out to roughly $1,964 in fees taken from money your family was going to receive anyway, on top of the months-long wait. A nomination costs nothing and pays out in weeks, which is why it is the single highest-value ten minutes in most people's CPF planning.
Under the Intestate Succession Act, your CPF is split by fixed legal shares, not by what you would have wanted. For non-Muslim members, the common outcomes are:
An unmarried partner gets nothing. A friend, a sibling you are close to, or a charity gets nothing. A nomination is the only way to direct your CPF to people the intestacy ladder leaves out. Muslim members' CPF is distributed under faraid via an Inheritance Certificate from the Syariah Court, which a nomination can also override for the CPF portion.
This is the rule that quietly undoes good planning. Getting married automatically revokes any CPF nomination you made before the wedding, even if you intended your new spouse to be the beneficiary. If you do not make a fresh nomination after marrying, you are back to the no-nomination default and the Public Trustee.
Divorce, by contrast, does not revoke a nomination, so an ex-spouse can stay named long after the relationship ends unless you actively change it. Review your nomination after any life event: marriage, a new child, divorce, or the death of a nominee. Each takes a few minutes online. If you are sorting out the rest of your retirement money at the same time, the related guides on CPF retirement sums and withdrawing CPF at 55 cover what happens to the same balances while you are alive.
Yes. Making, updating or revoking a CPF nomination costs nothing, whether you do it online with Singpass or in person at a CPF Service Centre. Your nominees also pay no charge to claim your CPF savings when you die. The only cost arises if you skip a nomination, when the Public Trustee deducts a tiered administration fee from your CPF.
Your CPF savings are transferred to the Public Trustee's Office and distributed under the Intestate Succession Act, or under Muslim inheritance law for Muslims. It can take up to six months to identify who is entitled, and the Public Trustee charges a tiered fee out of your CPF, with a $15 minimum that includes GST and cannot be waived.
No. CPF savings sit outside your estate, so a will has no power over them. The only document that controls who receives your CPF is a CPF nomination made directly with the CPF Board. You need both: a nomination for your CPF, and a will for everything else such as cash, property and investments.
Yes. Marriage automatically revokes any CPF nomination made before the wedding, even if you wanted your new spouse to inherit. You must make a fresh nomination after marrying, or your CPF defaults to the Public Trustee. Divorce does not revoke a nomination, so an ex-spouse stays named until you change it yourself.
You can name up to 15 nominees when you nominate online, and you set each person's percentage share so the total is 100%. If you want to name more than 15 people, you make the nomination in person at a CPF Service Centre. Nominees can be anyone, including people without a CPF account.
A nomination only covers CPF savings, your CPF LIFE premium balance and discounted Singtel shares. It does not cover property bought with CPF, investments under the CPF Investment Scheme, Dependants' Protection Scheme payouts, or any cash and assets outside CPF. Those need a will, the property's ownership structure, or a separate beneficiary nomination.
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.