Central Provident Fund

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Central Provident Fund (Abbreviation: CPF; Chinese: 公积金, Pinyin: Gōngjījīn) is a compulsory comprehensive social security savings plan which aims to provide working Singaporeans with a sense of security and confidence in their old age. The CPF was started on 1 July 1955. The overall scope and benefits of the CPF encompass the following:

• Retirement
• Healthcare
• Home Ownership
• Family Protection
• Asset Enhancement

Working Singaporeans and their employers make monthly contributions to the CPF and these contributions go into three accounts:

• Ordinary Account - the savings can be used to buy a home, pay for CPF insurance, investment and education.
• Special Account - for old age, contingency purposes and investment in retirement-related financial products.
• Medisave Account - the savings can be used for hospitalisation expenses and approved medical insurance.

As a social security plan, some of its policies have encountered criticisms, some of which are against social security in general and its compulsory nature, as well as the policy in management of the money.

[edit] See also

• Politics of Singapore
• Economy of Singapore

[edit] External links

• CPF Home
• Singapore’s Central Provident Fund Scheme An Overview and A Comparison with the U.S. Social Security System