By MoneyBees
See where your Special Account savings go when it closes at 55: into your Retirement Account up to the Full Retirement Sum, the rest to your Ordinary Account at 2.5% instead of 4%. Work out the interest difference over the years and how much you could move to the RA instead.
Into your RA
$220,400
$220,400 from SA, $0 from OA
SA savings moved to OA
$79,600
earning 2.5% instead of 4%
Interest lost over 10 years
$15,933
$1,194 in the first year
Your SA fills the RA up to your $220,400 Full Retirement Sum first. The other $79,600 of SA savings moves to your OA. Left there, it earns $22,295 over 10 years instead of the $38,227 it would have earned at 4%.
You can move up to $79,600 of it from your OA into the RA, up to the $440,800 Enhanced Retirement Sum, to keep earning 4%. The move cannot be undone and the money then pays out as CPF LIFE income, not as cash you can withdraw.
Interest rates are CPF's for Oct to Dec 2026 and assumed to hold. The 4% floor on SA, MA and RA savings runs to 31 Dec 2027. Extra interest is left out.
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| After | In OA at 2.5% | At 4% | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $1,990 | $3,184 | $1,194 |
| 2 years | $4,030 | $6,495 | $2,466 |
| 3 years | $6,120 | $9,939 | $3,819 |
| 5 years | $10,460 | $17,246 | $6,785 |
| 10 years | $22,295 | $38,227 | $15,933 |
Compounded yearly, as CPF credits interest once a year.
| Turn 55 in | Basic | Full | Enhanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $110,200 | $220,400 | $440,800 |
| 2027 | $114,100 | $228,200 | $456,400 |
The RA is filled up to your cohort's Full Retirement Sum. A transfer to the RA can go up to the current year's Enhanced Retirement Sum.
You turn 55 in 2026 with S$300,000 in your SA and S$100,000 in your OA. S$220,400 of SA savings fills your RA to the Full Retirement Sum, and none of your OA is needed. The SA closes and the other S$79,600 moves to your OA.
At 2.5% that S$79,600 earns S$1,990 in the first year instead of S$3,184 at 4%, S$1,194 less. Over 10 years it earns about S$22,295 instead of S$38,227, about S$15,933 less. Moving it to the RA keeps the 4% but locks it in for CPF LIFE.
Figures checked 4 Oct 2026.
CPF creates your Retirement Account on your 55th birthday and moves your SA savings, then your OA savings, into it up to your Full Retirement Sum. Your SA is then closed and any SA savings left go to your Ordinary Account.
In January 2025. CPF closed the SAs of about 1.4 million members aged 55 and above on 19 Jan 2025. Members turning 55 since then have their SA closed at 55.
The OA rate, 2.5% a year, instead of the 4% it earned in the SA. That is 1.5% less a year on the amount moved.
Yes. You can transfer OA savings, including what came from your SA, to your Retirement Account up to the current year's Enhanced Retirement Sum. The RA earns the same rate as the SA did. The transfer cannot be reversed and the money then goes to your CPF LIFE payouts.
For members turning 55 in 2026 the Full Retirement Sum is S$220,400 and the Enhanced Retirement Sum is S$440,800. For 2027 they are S$228,200 and S$456,400. The Basic Retirement Sum is S$110,200 and S$114,100.
The share that used to go to the SA now goes to the RA, up to your cohort's Full Retirement Sum. Once your RA holds the Full Retirement Sum, it goes to your OA.
They were not sold. You can hold CPFIS-SA investments until you sell them or they mature. The proceeds then go to your RA up to the Full Retirement Sum and the rest to your OA.
CPF has extended the 4% floor on Special, MediSave and Retirement Account savings until 31 Dec 2027. The OA earns at least 2.5%, its legislated minimum.
Yes. From 55 you earn an extra 2% on the first S$30,000 and 1% on the next S$30,000 of your combined balances, counting the RA first and no more than S$20,000 of the OA. It replaces the extra 1% on S$60,000 you got below 55.
These calculators provide general estimates for educational purposes only and are not personalised financial advice. Results may rely on rates and rules that change over time, so verify against official sources (IRAS, CPF Board, HDB, MAS) or consult a licensed financial adviser before making decisions.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).