How the CPF Home Purchase Planner Made Us Rethink Home Buying and Retirement

I never thought a simple question from my dad would change how I think about buying a home. My partner and I were in the usual excited-but-naive stage of house-hunting — pinning flats on our boards, eyeing neighbourhoods near our parents, and dreaming about the inevitable fur kids. Then my dad asked, “If you’re putting so much into the downpayment, what about your retirement savings?” Ouch. That one line made me stop and actually look beyond the now.

Our homework vs the planner

We’d done the usual homework: scrolled listings, checked past BTO launches, and punched numbers into online loan calculators to get a ballpark monthly repayment. We even sketched a split of the downpayment — 25% upfront, 75% loan — and estimated our monthly burden. But when I tried the CPF Board’s Home Purchase Planner, it was like switching from a blurry sketch to a full-colour map.

Instead of just telling me monthly repayments, the planner connected the dots between home ownership and retirement savings. It showed how using my CPF Ordinary Account (OA) for a property affects what flows into my Retirement Account (RA) later — and ultimately what I’ll get as CPF LIFE payouts at 65. Suddenly, “Can I afford this flat?” had a few more follow-up questions attached.

Using the Home Purchase Planner — my experience

I’ll be honest: I hate filling in forms. But the planner lets you log in with Singpass and auto-pulls your CPF info, which saved me a tonne of manual typing. After that it only asked a few things: gross monthly income, cash savings, monthly expenses, and whether I wanted to add my partner as co-owner. Easy.

Next up was my housing situation. Since we didn’t own any property, I selected that option and then chose to see the impact of taking a loan. That’s when things got real. The planner asked if I wanted to see how a purchase would affect my retirement — yes, obviously I did. It then walked me through setting a retirement income goal by asking about healthcare needs and lifestyle. Based on the answers, it suggested about $3,180/month; I rounded up to $3,500.

Then came inflation — and this was a lightbulb moment. The planner factored inflation in and showed that to get the same lifestyle at 65, I’d actually need about $7,290/month. Then I hit Calculate, and the planner laid everything out.

It gave sensible purchase budgets: a max of $724,010 for an HDB flat with an HDB loan, or $650,454 if we took a bank loan. Estimated monthly instalments were roughly $2,464 — manageable, we thought. It also flagged upfront costs (stamp duty and legal fees). For our scenario, stamp duty could be an extra $27,181. I’d previously estimated a $650,000 BTO, with a 25% downpayment of $162,500 and monthly repayments around $2,211 (2.6% interest, 25 years), split to about $1,105 each. The planner made me realise there’s more to the story than that neat spreadsheet.

The retirement trade-off — numbers that hit home

Beyond loan tables and budgets, the planner showed the direct hit to my retirement. Instead of receiving the inflation-adjusted $7,290/month at 65, I’d be looking at about $5,300 — a shortfall of roughly $1,990 every month. In other words, my retirement pot would be about $416,000 short of the goal of $1,509,000. Those aren’t small numbers; they change how you picture your future.

It also highlighted the mechanics: money in your OA that’s used for housing means less left to be transferred into your RA at 55 (up to the Full Retirement Sum), which reduces your CPF LIFE payouts. The planner made this transparent in a way my spreadsheets hadn’t.

What I learnt from the planner

• Housing decisions affect retirement: Using OA funds for a home today reduces what’s available for long-term retirement income.
• Buffers matter: Draining your OA leaves little room if you stop working or hit unexpected expenses. I decided to keep a minimum buffer.
• Affordability = trade-offs: Affordability isn’t just monthly repayments; it’s what you’re willing to trade off in lifestyle and flexibility later.

What I’m doing differently now

After seeing the numbers, we made a few changes. First, I’m keeping about $20,000 in my OA as a buffer instead of using it all for downpayment. Second, we’ll pay part of the mortgage in cash where possible so we don’t over-rely on CPF funds. I’ve also started topping up my Special Account (SA). CPF balances compound nicely, and SA earns a higher rate (up to 5% p.a.), helping my retirement pot grow faster. Cash top-ups to CPF also give tax relief of up to $8,000 — win-win.

We also paid attention to the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR). The planner recommended keeping the MSR under 25% so monthly housing costs don’t gobble up too much of our gross income. That felt like a sensible guardrail: keep mortgage payments comfortable while leaving room for insurance, savings, and yes, those future fur kids.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my partner and I went through the planner together. Seeing the figures side-by-side helped us align on priorities. Our dream BTO is technically within reach, but we decided to start with a more affordable flat. It’s boring, maybe, but also sensible — we can preserve some CPF savings for retirement and still live comfortably today.

Final thoughts — try it before you commit

If you’re thinking about buying, give the CPF Board’s Home Purchase Planner a spin. It takes about 10 minutes but can change how you approach your home and future. The planner doesn’t tell you what to do — it shows the trade-offs and lets you make informed decisions. For us, that clarity meant choosing security over splurge, and peace of mind over a bigger flat.

Planning a home is about more than walls and floorboards. It’s about balancing where you want to live now with how you want to live later. If you want a practical nudge (or a reality check), try the planner — and maybe bring your dad along for the conversation. He might be annoying, but he might just save you a few sleepless nights down the road.

Disclosure: this article reflects my experience using CPF Board’s Home Purchase Planner and references information available at the time of writing. The tool helped me make a more informed choice for my first home and my retirement. Go try it.