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CPFIS Explained: A Practical Guide to Investing Your CPF Savings

ByBrian

If you’ve ever wondered whether you can do more with your CPF than just let it sit and compound quietly in the background, welcome — you’re not alone. The CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) gives Singaporeans the option to invest part of their CPF Ordinary Account (OA) and Special Account (SA) savings into a range of approved financial products. The goal? Potentially higher returns than the risk-free CPF interest rates. But yes — there’s risk, and some homework is required.

What is CPFIS in plain English?

Think of CPFIS as a toolkit: instead of leaving all your CPF savings earning the standard CPF interest, you can move some of it into investments like unit trusts, ETFs, shares, government bonds, and more. CPFIS consists of two parts — CPFIS-OA for your Ordinary Account and CPFIS-SA for your Special Account — and each comes with its own rules about how much and what you can invest.

Why consider it?

Simple: the CPF interest rates are safe and steady, but they’re not always the highest return you could chase. CPFIS gives you a shot at higher returns if you’re willing to accept more volatility. Since 1986 the scheme has broadened the choice of products and tightened standards — they removed sales charges on funds, capped expense ratios, and introduced a mandatory suitability assessment to help members make more informed decisions.

Who can use CPFIS?

  • At least 18 years old
  • Not an undischarged bankrupt
  • Have more than S$20,000 in your OA to invest from the OA
  • Have more than S$40,000 in your SA to invest from the SA
  • Have completed the mandatory suitability assessment (SAQ)

To invest OA savings, you’ll need to open a CPF Investment Account with a CPFIS agent bank (the major local banks offer this via online or mobile channels). For SA investments, you can usually approach product providers directly without a separate CPF Investment Account.

Key limits to be aware of

Don’t forget these practical rules: you must set aside S$20,000 in your OA and S$40,000 in your SA before investing the rest. Of your investible savings, you can allocate up to 35% to stocks and up to 10% to gold.

Tip: Your CPF interest is computed monthly, then credited the following year. That means transactions in your account can affect the balances used to compute interest — so time your moves carefully.

What you can invest in (a quick tour)

  • Treasury Bills (T-bills) — short-term government bills (6-month or 1-year currently). Issued at a discount and redeemed at face value on maturity.
  • Singapore Government Securities (SGS) Bonds — longer-dated bonds (2 to 50 years). Fixed coupons every six months. Note: if you sell before maturity, prices can fluctuate with interest rates.
  • Fixed deposits — lock your money with a bank for a fixed tenure and interest rate. Early withdrawal may bring penalties. Deposits are insured by SDIC up to S$100,000.
  • Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) — baskets of assets traded on exchanges. They can track indexes (e.g., Straits Times Index) or commodities like gold.
  • Shares, unit trusts, REITs, bonds, gold products — a broad range depending on CPFIS eligibility and product admission rules.

Costs — yes, they matter

Fees eat into returns, so don’t glaze over this section:

  • Wrap fee: capped at 0.4% per annum, charged over your fund portfolio value (for bundled advisory/management services).
  • Total Expense Ratio (TER): capped between 0.35% and 1.75% per annum across different fund risk categories — this covers fund management and operating costs.
  • Broker’s commission: roughly 0.25%–0.28% of trade amount for exchange-traded products, with a minimum of S$25 per trade.

Risk and common-sense checks

All investments carry risk — you can lose part or all of your invested amount. The CPF Board doesn’t endorse specific products, and CPFIS isn’t magic. Before diving in, think about:

  • Your investment goal and time horizon — CPF savings are for retirement, so long-term thinking usually makes sense.
  • Your risk tolerance — age, income, and other savings affect how much risk you can responsibly take.
  • Whether you have enough non-CPF funds for emergencies and basic retirement needs — don’t put everything at risk.
  • Whether you have the time or expertise to monitor and manage investments — underperforming investments will beat CPF interest only if you actively or wisely manage them.
Quick checklist before you invest:

  1. Complete the SAQ and understand your suitability category.
  2. Know all fees and how they affect returns.
  3. Decide the portion of CPF you can afford to risk.
  4. Have an exit plan — when to sell and whether to transfer proceeds back to CPF accounts to earn CPF interest.

Is investing your CPF right for you?

Short answer: maybe. You should only consider CPFIS if:

  • You can tolerate the risk of losing part or all of the invested money.
  • You have sufficient funds outside CPF for basic needs and emergencies.
  • You’re willing and able to monitor the investments or get reliable advice.

If that doesn’t sound like you, there’s nothing wrong with leaving your savings in CPF accounts where they’ll continue to grow steadily at stable, risk-free interest rates. Remember: slow and steady often wins the long retirement race.

Where to read more

If you want the official details, the CPF Board has a great resource page with up-to-date info and links to agent banks and product lists: Invest your CPF savings with CPFIS (CPF Board).

Info in this article is based on the CPFIS guidance and figures available as at the date of publication. As of 30 Sep 2025, about S$21.4 billion of OA and SA savings were held in investments made by CPF members — which shows some people are using CPFIS, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Got questions or want to share your CPFIS experience? Drop a comment below — let’s talk practical pros and cons, not just numbers on a page.

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