CPF’s New Anti‑Scam Tools: Safety Switch and Trusted Contacts to Protect Your Savings

If you’ve been watching the news (or your relatives’ WhatsApp groups), you’ll know scams are getting sneakier. The good news: the CPF Board has just rolled out two practical anti-scam tools to help protect your life savings — the Safety Switch and a Trusted Contact notification service. They’re not magic, but they’re smart and simple additions that can make a real difference if someone tries to mess with your CPF account.

What’s new — quick summary

Here’s the gist:

• Safety Switch — aimed at CPF members aged 55 and above. It stops online access to CPF services, halts ongoing withdrawals and blocks future withdrawals if your Singpass is compromised.
• Trusted Contact notification service — available to members aged 21 and above. You can appoint up to two people who will be notified of certain account changes and lump-sum withdrawals.

Safety Switch: who it’s for and why it matters

The Safety Switch is for those aged 55 and up who want an extra layer of protection. If someone somehow gets their hands on your Singpass, the Safety Switch basically shuts down online moves on your CPF account — no withdrawals, no access via the CPF website or mobile app, and even disbursements to your registered bank account are stopped.

Crucially, ongoing contributions into your CPF — like your employer’s contributions — and recurring payments for housing or insurance aren’t affected. So your day-to-day financial life won’t grind to a halt, but outsiders won’t be able to siphon money out of your CPF.

How to use the Safety Switch

1. Call the CPF hotline: 1800-227-1188 to activate it. (Only eligible members can do this.)
2. If you later want to switch it off, you’ll need to go in person to a CPF Service Centre or call the hotline during operating hours to deactivate it.
3. More details: Trusted Contacts: a second pair of eyes

   Trusted Contacts is a notification service for members aged 21 and above. You can appoint up to two people — adult children, siblings, a close friend — who will get notified when certain actions happen on your CPF account. These include:

   • Lump-sum withdrawals for immediate retirement needs
   • Updates to the daily withdrawal limit
   • Changes to bank account details and contact information

   When your trusted contact gets a notification, they should check in with you to confirm the transaction was authorised. If something looks off, they can help you take quick action — like advising you to talk to your bank, reset your Singpass, activate the Safety Switch, and inform the CPF Board after lodging a police report.

   What trusted contacts can and can’t do

   Important to know:

   • Trusted contacts only receive notifications — they don’t get access to your CPF account details beyond what’s in the alert and they can’t transact on your behalf.
   • There’s no legal liability on the trusted contact for your account — they’re just an extra set of eyes.
   • The appointment process uses biometric authentication, so nobody can sneakily add someone as your trusted contact without your permission.
   • Members can add or remove trusted contacts anytime via the CPF website: