Source: The Business Times, 15 October 2026
If you reach 65 in Singapore, you can expect to live another 21.6 years on average, The Business Times reported this week. That's a long time for your CPF and savings to keep paying you. MoneyOwl, a financial advisory firm, has launched a free retirement planner to help you work out whether they can. The OwlRetirement Planner puts your CPF accounts, cash and investments in one place. It then shows how long they could give you an income in retirement. Here's what it does, what it asks you for and where CPF LIFE fits in.
The 21.6 years is an average. The Business Times also reported that 31% of men and 46% of women who reach 65 can expect to live past 90.
Prices keep rising over those years. Say CPF LIFE pays you S$1,000 a month. CPF Board says that 20 years from now, you may need about S$1,500 to buy what S$1,000 buys today.
Here are the 2025 life expectancy figures The Business Times reported.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth, men | 81.8 years |
| Life expectancy at birth, women | 86 years |
| Further years at 65, on average | 21.6, to age 86.6 |
| Men at 65 who can expect to live past 90 | 31% |
| Women at 65 who can expect to live past 90 | 46% |
You enter your CPF balances, your cash and your investments. The planner then shows how long that money could give you an income in retirement.
It's free, and MoneyOwl will also use it in the retirement planning workshops it runs for companies and individuals. The Business Times listed what you get back:
MoneyOwl's view is that a savings target is only part of the answer. The other part is your plan for when you start living off that money.
That plan has to make the money last as long as possible. It also has to leave room for risks, and for needs you didn't see coming.
Chuin Ting Weber, MoneyOwl's chief executive, said the firm asks whether your income is enough for your whole life and keeps up with rising costs. It also asks whether it gives you the safety and flexibility you need.
Weber said this brings two risks into focus that people often underestimate: "outliving one's retirement resources and having too little readily available cash to meet unexpected large expenses."
MoneyOwl's plan starts with CPF LIFE. Weber said it gives you a dependable income for life, so it goes towards the spending you can't cut. She counts health insurance premiums in that group.
Your other savings then go towards extra lifestyle spending, with some kept within easy reach for unexpected needs.
Here's how CPF LIFE works, from CPF Board. If you're in it, it pays you every month for as long as you live.
CPF Board puts you in CPF LIFE automatically if you're a Singapore citizen or PR born in 1958 or later. You also need at least S$60,000 in retirement savings when your payouts start.
If you're not included, your monthly payouts stop when your savings run out. Citizens and PRs in that group can still join CPF LIFE any time from 65 to one month before they turn 80.
Your payout eligibility age is 65, and you can start your payouts any time from 65 to 70.
Each year you wait raises your payouts by up to 7%, or by up to 35% if you start at 70. If you're in CPF LIFE and haven't told CPF Board what you want by 70, your payouts start then on the Standard Plan.
Retiring and starting CPF LIFE are separate choices. CPF Board says your payout age isn't linked to the retirement age, which went up to 64 on 1 July 2026, or to the re-employment age, now 69.
CPF LIFE has three plans, and the planner lets you compare them:
| Plan | What your monthly payouts do |
|---|---|
| Escalating Plan | Start lower, then rise 2% a year for life |
| Standard Plan | Stay the same every month |
| Basic Plan | Fall once your CPF balances drop below S$60,000 |
MoneyOwl's page says the planner is for people aged 19 to 64, working or not, and takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
You can use the standard planner without giving your name or email address, MoneyOwl says. At the end, it may invite you to join its mailing list for extra features. It says it doesn't link your name or email to the figures you enter.
Before you start, it asks you to have these ready:
MoneyOwl says the planner is for general information and education. It isn't financial advice, and it doesn't look at your full financial situation.
Its results rest on assumptions, and what actually happens could be very different. An AI tool writes a summary of your results but doesn't do the sums. MoneyOwl says that summary may contain errors.
CPF Board has its own monthly payout estimator on its CPF LIFE page. Its planning steps start with the lifestyle you want and the effect of inflation. Then you work out the payouts you'd need and check whether your savings cover them.
For a sense of where you stand, our guide to CPF savings by age group shows how balances compare. Our guide to saving for retirement in Singapore starts with CPF and then works out the gap.
If you're nearer 55, our guide to how much CPF you can withdraw at 55 covers what happens before payouts start. Our guide to topping up your CPF with cash covers the tax relief.
Yes. The Business Times reported that the planner is free, and MoneyOwl's page says you can use the standard version without giving your name or email address.
MoneyOwl's page says it's for people aged 19 to 64, whether they're working or not. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes, with your CPF balances, savings and investments to hand.
Any time from 65 to 70, CPF Board says. Each year you defer adds up to 7% to your payouts. If you're in CPF LIFE and haven't told CPF Board by 70, payouts start then on the Standard Plan.
No. CPF Board includes you automatically if you're a Singapore citizen or PR born in 1958 or later, with at least S$60,000 in retirement savings when payouts start. Otherwise your payouts stop when your savings run out, though citizens and PRs can join from 65 to one month before 80.
The Business Times reported that people who reach 65 can expect another 21.6 years on average, to 86.6. It said 31% of men and 46% of women at 65 can expect to live past 90.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).