Singapore’s CPF system used to be a shining example of what a good provident fund should be. At one time, the contribution rate was 50 percent. Many Singaporeans were supposed to have a hefty sum on retirement at age 55.

Today, the savings at 55 or 62 is not adequate. We are even ranked the lowest among the countries.

Lesson? We need to have a new approach. The CPF system was created 50 years ago, and had been following just one direction. Although there were some discussions about how to make a change, the outcome is usually the same. The basic structure remained the same. With unfavourable trends, it has now become a sad example of inadequate savings.

Actually Singaporeans are the richest people on earth if the Republic is voluntary dissolved and our foreign reserves are distributed to every citizen.

We have the highest reserves per capita in the world because over the past 49 years of PAP’s rule the govt has siphoned off a big portion of our wages and lock them up in the CPF which was also a source of cheap fund for the govt to use for national and for comercial purposes. (This ‘cheap fund’ term was acknowledged by one green-horned PAP candidate during the 2006 GE but was told to withdraw the statement.)

Another trick the govt used to soak up your excess CPF fund is to raise the prices of HDB flats so that you cannot be too rich or else you cannot be easily controlled. If those bankrupt opposition party members and critics have plenty of money the PAP would be in trouble. Of course if you serve them well you will be highly rewarded.

i agree with both hands and legs.

no wonder they are paid the highest salary for politicians in the entire world , past and present. i suspect the future also.

sg’reans so lucky.

And I don’t work and live in Singapore though I am borned in KK hospital in Singapore, that is, born singaporean.

You will find in this book the public savings and how our CPF has been cut and divided by many different purposes but primarily deviate from its original purposes. One main usage is the highly priced HDB flat which a lot of Singaporeans thought (and still thought) was highly subsidised.

It explains why we were with lowest retirement fund to depend upon.

Actually, we don’t have pension to a certain sense. All these are our part of our total compensation package, ie, remuneration, over the span of our working period.

It is becoming like a dog-eat-dog society. How to support old folks if own children folks also got problems on their own lah.

If children folks are capable & talented ones & filial, stil ok lah. What if children not so capable ones like those having many many problems and they also have to compete in the low-income kind of work where you can easily replace them with equally low-cost foreign type because employers must also survive also and earn money.

Low cost children folks and employers also got to earn more money for what. To survive lah and to pay TAX lah. A lot of people will always be confused what is hitting them lah if they keep on believing excuses as good reasons lah.

cpf is a form of implicit personal tax!
our effective tax rate = your personal tax rates + cpf % (cap at 4.5k)!!

the $$ locked in there is as good as sunk cost, we can only expect meagre return in the form of monthly withdrawal & most prob you will die before drawing all $$$

i m pretty confidence that once the cpf annuity pool is formalised, you can expect upon death, the $$$ will not be part of your estate BUT TO GO BACK TO CPF POOL TO FUND THE OTHERS STILL ALIVE…

na beh….

So Singaporeans contributing to CPF provides the govt with cheap funding, only to see it shrinking in “real value” (i.e. purchasing power). Is it any surprise why people try whatever means they can to get the CPF $ out, even if it lands into poor investments? IMHO, one benefit of giving up one’s Singaporean citizenship is getting back one’s hard-earned CPF $.

In addition, the 2.5% p.a. and the 4% p.a. CPF returns are set to be changed again (likely reduce due to the floating rate in poor economic conditions) in 2010. See http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Gen-Info/Int-Rates/Int-Rates.htm for details.

pap is the the ‘madoff of asia’, orchestrating greatest ponzi scheme

they are good at robbing peter (own citizens) to pay pauk (their own salary & stupid investments)

wake for fellow citizens……the cpf is not yours but pap cheap funding….

how can u say like that when the majority people do not mind the current cpf system ?

get what i mean?

OECD has cleverly seen thru the smoke screen that when singaporeans make deposits into CPF, their money has really passed out from their hands. in reality, it doesn’t belong to the depositors, but the CPF board.

“what does this ranking mean to commoners and layman like me?”

This means that you better be prepared to work till you die and pray very hard that you have a quick death from the stress of working and don’t fall sick instead.

Your children won’t be able to help you much at all if they are paying for expensive pigeon holes that in turn will suck up their own retirement funds.

Unless of course they themselves make it and become elites, then maybe they might be able to bring you to Paris for cooking lessons.

much of the people’s money have been “invested’ to make singapore looking “first class” or to make our elites look “successful”.”

do you refer to this headline? “Temasek’s Merrill losses could exceed $2bn ”

look stupid or look successful? lol.