By MoneyBees
Compare investing your CPF Ordinary Account under CPFIS with the 2.5% it earns, after fees and agent bank charges, the return you need to match it, and how much of your OA you can invest.
The CPF Investment Scheme lets you invest Ordinary Account savings above S$20,000, and Special Account savings above S$40,000, in products such as unit trusts, ETFs, shares, bonds and T-bills. CPFIS-OA goes through an agent bank: DBS, OCBC or UOB.
Only if you expect to beat 2.5% a year after all fees, and can accept that you might not. The OA's 2.5% is guaranteed. At 1% a year in fees, an investment needs 3.5% a year before fees just to match it.
Everything above the first S$20,000. Of your investible savings, the OA balance plus what you have already used for investment and education, at most 35% can go into shares, property funds and corporate bonds and 10% into gold.
CPF says you must be at least 18, not an undischarged bankrupt, have more than S$20,000 in your OA or more than S$40,000 in your SA, and have completed the Self-Awareness Questionnaire.
There is no sales charge on unit trusts under CPFIS since 1 Oct 2020. Fund expense ratios are capped at 0.35% to 1.75% a year by risk, wrap fees at 0.4% a year, and agent banks charge up to S$2.50 per 1,000 units bought and S$2 per counter each quarter.
CPF's figures to 31 Dec 2025: in 2025, 86% of 522,000 investors made more than 2.5%. Over the five years from 2021, 65% did, 19% made less, and 16% lost money.
No. Money taken out to invest earns whatever the investment returns. CPF asks you to move idle money in your CPF Investment Account back to your OA so it earns CPF interest again.
Your SA closes at 55. CPF says you can keep existing CPFIS-SA investments until you sell them or they mature, and you can invest the balance moved to your OA under CPFIS-OA.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).