Leong Sze Hian –
Several Singaporeans living overseas and in Singapore have contacted The Online Citizen to tell us that they have received letters from the CPF Board asking them to pay their CPF Medisave arrears, incurred many years ago.
For example, Jane (not her real name), has been married to a European citizen, working and living in Europe, since 2003.
She had not received any letters from the CPF Board for several years, until the recent demand letter arrived at her European address. The letter said: “Failure to pay Medisave contributions is an offence under the CPF Act and is liable for composition fine and possibly Court action.”
She was self-employed and was struggling to pay her full Medisave contributions consistently, as she had to support her bankrupt father, ailing mother and sibling who was studying.
About eight years ago, under threat of being charged in court, she struggled to pay about $500 a month under an installment plan worked out with the CPF Board for about a year, but was unable to continue for the rest of the agreed installment period of about 2 years.
Her outstanding Medisave arrears is now about $12,000.
As she is only earning about 1,000 Euros a month now, she is not able to pay her Medisave arrears.
She is afraid that if she is charged in court, and if a warrant of arrest is issued, as we understand is normally the case for those who don’t turn up, she fears that she may be arrested if she comes home to visit her family.
She wonders if her only solution to her “Medisave” predicament is to give up her citizenship.
Or is she condemned to a lifetime exile form her country of birth?
Since she is living in Europe and will not return to Singapore, even if she is able to pay her Medisave arrears, what is the point of asking her to contribute, as she may never be able to use her Medisave which is restricted for use in Singapore and 12 approved hospitals in Malaysia since March this year?
Another example is John, who is a retired civil servant, and receives a pension and free lifetime medical benefits.
He too has been served with letters of demand and threat of court action for Medisave arrears incurred as a self-employed person.
When he told the CPF Board that it was pointless for him to contribute to Medisave even if he could afford to, because he gets free medical treatment, he was told that he could use his Medisave for his wife.
When he told them that his wife was also a civil service pensioner with free medical benefits, he was told that he could use it for his children.
When he told them that he has no children, he was told that it was required by law to contribute to Medisave.
I wonder how many people in Singapore or Singaporeans living overseas, owe Medisave, and have received letters of demand.
Are these letters of demand being sent to Singapore permanent residents (PRs) living in Malaysia, who owe Medisave too?
How many will be served with court action?
Self-employed persons are required to contribute to Medisave if they earn more than $6,000 a year.
If you earn just $500 a month, how do you survive?
If you are struggling to survive, how can you afford to make Medisave contributions?
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- How is allowing Medisave to be used overseas connected with GIC losing S$7.3 billion?
- Medisave contribution may increase to cover costs – Leong Sze Hian replies
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Giving up citizenship is something that I think about… Seems that is the only way for me to put my CPF / Medisvave money to good use. Why should I struggle daily to make ends meet when I have enough CPF/Medisve money to live very comfortably in some lower cost country? Is a Singapore Citizenship worth all that sacrifice?
For me, the other compelling reason is that I no longer believe in Western chemical-/drug-based medicine and so I will not be using my Medisave no matter what. If I have some serious illness, I rather use my money to go to some nice place with good air, good food etc than to pay ridiculous money and be poisoned by drugs in a hospital!
Norman Cousins did just that. He was told he had an “incurable” disease. But instead of remaining in a hospital, he moved to a hotel and rented funny movies (this was still in the days of film, not video) to entertain himself. He found the hotel had better food, better service etc and, best of all, cheaper than hospital. Eventually he recovered from his so-called incurable illness and wrote his story in “Anatomy of an Illness”.
Medisave is a scam not only by the government but by medical doctors to make us hand over our precious money to them.
medisave is just a scam and not really care for citizen of their health.
they come out with all kind of policies to protect the money from using for singaporeans health but rather for their investment health and cure for their down turn.
that’s why the goverment have no worries even how hard to fall and lost as we singapore are to carry them harder and support them further and longer.
this is how they survive their fall but what about our fall? how do we survive that? we go and beg on street,collect tin cans,beg and get slap from CDC AND OTHER GOVERNMENT WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS!
singaporeans really got to think and vote wisely
the harder they fall the bigger mistake they does and they more luxuries life they live then singaporeans have to work even harder and longer possible they will be no retirement and even you are sick you will be left to die. this is MM LEE KUAN YEW! this is PAP!
you singaporeans have been paying and paying for their luxuries expenditure and their lost from their greed
Someone needs for bills accumulated by the YOG
Hmmmm…Hmmmmm…
Paying for medisave when you are financially tight can be so stressful, it makes you sick. Then you need money to go hospital but may not be able to cover all your expenses using medisave. Hmmm… so how?
in some country most indeed. if you seek you go government hospital and you get free medication. france is one of them that doctor will come right to your home in emergency case and it is free and paid by the government itself.
Actually where is the Transparency for all tis $$$ -does the public reallyhve access to tis info? I seriously think that they are jus ” borrowing $ to make $”, any losses will always be justified -any gains -probably their “Gang members” gained more somewhere -indirectly. That “Old Fark” is jus a “Devil in disguised”
Btw,old fark jus mentioned that there shuld be “No retirement” date set – I laugh off my chair- probably telling us -he n his son will want to “sit” there forever –how shameless n greedy !
Since Singapore is not a welfare state, why must PAP kept squeezing money out of our pocket into theirs. If welfare is a dirty word, please allow Singaporeans to keep their own savings for rainy day and stop using law to bully us into submission. It is not that Singaporeans are earning a lot of money nowadays, every damned basic necessities are already so costly. Can’t they just spare a thought. Besides, Medisave is not a savings, it cannot be taken out nor liquidated when we are old, all such monies will go to the state. Such Ah Long tactic of using force to force payment is unethical.
Prestoon Loon: Questions.Why should i pay into it?.Why there is a sudden change in policy?.
Because Temasek and GIC lost billions and billions.
hey, what happen should one reach the maximum in medisave, is one supposed to continue contributing, otherwise the term, “owing money to one’s own medisave acct” is a “BIG, SICK” joke, contribute until dead do us apart ???
we owe money to our “MEDISAVE” acct, is like we owe money to ourself,but for sam to use as wish.
when that acct has reach its max, all interest and whatever contributions overflows into special acct or the SA acct, so is this a classic example of a ” contradicting policy”.
and the SA is practically a dead acct, cannot touch until 55 or 62,in other words, they want you to pay and pay until, hopefully you die first, but money there, for NOK to use, more likely, they’ll say, let it ride, 4% is better than bank, but they’ll also have first touch, but not you, already dead.
if you read the papers, you will be thinking how come lky make references to the workers as generals.
he is expecting everybody to work long long.
What he said contradicted what LSS mentioned earlier about slowing down… in the ntuc.
To Hate them.
You made a valid statement that Singapore is NOT a welfare state.
The problem here is the PAP government is applying 2 different rules.
First rule is the people of singapore cannot have welfare and must live on what they can earn after deduction of direct/indirect taxes [GST, C&C and what have you].
Second rule is the PAP folks can have “welfare” by LIVING OFF the people of singapore.
Wah….such hypocrites the PAP are. Or are the PAP so obtuse that the money coming from the people of singapore honest hard sweat, toil and blood is PAP deserve salaries? Using other people money and still thinking you are the best…what a joke don’t you think Hate them.
“In the country of the blind, the one eye man can be a king”. Approximate re-quote.
Good day good folks.
Haiz.
PAP has the cheek to label CPF as “social security”?
That’s my own bloody money my god.
That’s why it’s always said that it’s better to die in Singapore than to get sick…sigh
So is there a way now to get all our CPF monies in the ordinary accounts , and also the medisave monies, all in cold hard real cash????
Can someone suggest? Beside emigrating, what other possible option to get back our all these monies which is our hard earned monies now.
I mean now , and no more 55, or 65 or whatever, but now!
Please someone come out with some good options…..
We have a insensitive govt which go by the book.
walamak,
$ always wanted to be input;
how about $ output to sg citizen?
$ in need very fast (i think);
$ out, also very fast (i dont think so)?
more n more no logic hor
walamak
I am just an ordinary working class person, ordinary job, ordinary pay. I am very glad I emigrated and gave up my Sg citizenship recently. I withdrew my CPF and put the money towards the mortgage of my landed property in my new country now. Big land, nice big house, view to the beautiful snow-capped hills. Calculating how I have put my withdrawn CPF funds to use (paying up as much of my mortgage as possible thus drastically reducing the interest I would have to pay, I will be able to mortgage free before I hit 50 and would be able to semi-retire after that. Just need to earn enough for my meals and day-to-day expenses. By 60, I can retire and enjoy the beautiful nature around me. Funny how PAP doesn’t trust citizens to do a good job managing their own retirement funds, handing them over in a couple of hundreds a month after retirement age. If they could do such a good job, why would Singaporeans need to work even into their 70s and 80s with no retirement in sight?
CPF = Citizens Profiteering Fund
To stop the PAP Government from continuing to step rough shod over citizens with crap like this is to vote them out in the next GE.
The quickest way out of this bullying problem if you can is to surrender your citizenship and withdraw every single cent from your CPF Account.
Just dun understand the rational behind Medisave if u live in Europe, all medical services are free here!
Maybe by making people like Jane and overseas Singaporeans like her to pay up is a signal from the government saying that it isn’t an excuse not to pay up just because one is living overseas?
is there anyway to remove this CPF policy?
I need cash to pay COV.
I need cash to pay my sch fees.
I need cash to get married.
Me too.
I need cash to pay for my rental ( a true blue singaporean) renting a room in singapore.
I need cash to survive, cos i dont know when i will be lay off.
I need cash for my daily necessities cos living standard cost of singapore is too high liao.
@no cash buy HDB and helpme,
I thought we have a minister in SG claiming that if you do not have foods or shelter, he will personally bring it to you?
Come to UK, at least the benefits system will help you in one way or another when you need it! And the minister/s in UK will never made this remarks publicly as the citizens know their rights and the media will mock at them!
TO Desperate_for_anything,
Do you think is fair to pay up the money for your health benefits in Singapore while you are working overseas and having not used once?Do you agree to pay your income taxes to Singapore governmemt while you are working overseas?.We are talking about fairness here.
@SG in UK,
so do u have a email tat can contact u? at least got kaki in overseas, not so scared. pls provide it here.
Sorry mate, not able to provide it here.
You may wish to provide yr email here and I’ll reply accordingly.
Hi Jane,
My advice is give up the citizenship. Take all the money out from CPF.
At least you have the chance to touch those money.
Ppl like us. Will never have the chance to touch our own HARD EARNED MONEY.
CPF ask you to pay. You know why. Cause Temasek lost money. So need to use to CPF to cover the hole.
Aiyo. Paper cannot never cover fire one. Sooner or later. The fire will be bigger and burn everyone.
There is absolutely no questions needed to be asked – please comrades of Singapore, chucked the bloody PAP out. Thats the answer to ALL your CPF questions, to all your COL issues, to ALL your YOG questions.
VOTE PAP out, thats the real long-term answer.
THEN, only then our children CAN SEE their CPF at Age 50!!! and we will have enough money to BUY our own caskets!!!
dont mind moving to australia, singapore will never allow any of us to withdraw, they might even force us to top up the gap!
they getting very greedy, keeps revising the cpf schemes on daily basis.
dont you feel sick?
In Old China- during every Dynasty period if U don’t or no money to pay up tax, your buttock will be slash by the dog Minister. This is happening in modern Singapore. Serve U people right for voting FamiLEE regime.
Hooray! TOC managed to load again in my system. I thought i kena banned here because i have written my comments here. :-P
ben 4 August 2010
dont mind moving to australia, singapore will never allow any of us to withdraw, they might even force us to top up the gap!
they getting very greedy, keeps revising the cpf schemes on daily basis.
dont you feel sick?
Just to share here. Do you know that medisave took away more than 30% of your total monthly cpf contributions more than 20% goes to your special account, leaving you people with only 45% balance to service your housing loan, which I have just check through the online cpf website. I believe there are alot of people who are still unaware of this in their monthly cpf contribution.
So to say, even if your monthly salary is around 4K, you still have to top up the shortfall in cash to service your hdb housing loan. This is real sick! how the citizens were so badly being manipulated all these years while the garmet keeps trumpeting that our hdb flats are heavily subsidized????? BIGGEST LIAR OF ALL TIME. It’s time to kick them all out this coming GE.
If CPF is considered as an Insurance Agency, I’d report as scam but CPF is owned by government, how pathetic.
Anyhows, I never understood the use of CPF.. lets say to buy a house, the information given is so vague and difficult to understand. Question is, why cant they make it CLEAR?
The issue here is not so much whether one is overseas or not. The issue is clearly why someone earning just 500 dollars a month as a self employed need to contribute so much to Medisave. 500 dollars a month is below subsistence level. There are people who just put self employed because they cannot find a job in Singapore. They work parttime here and there in order to survive and makes a few hundred a month. They have been honest enough to report their earnings and yet they are being penalised to pay money into an account that supposedly will be used in their final days when they need the money now to ensure they and their family survive. How ridiculous is that? Simply no sense of proportion!!!
@Singaporean,
Totally agree with you.
CPF = Conceptually Permanent Frozen
= Coffin Payment Fund
= Can Pay Faster ( By the wishes of People of Singapore who are stuck here )
You can’t just give up your citizenship without first obtaining another. There is also no such thing as becoming a stateless person to withdrawal CPF. Vote as many opposition in order to revise the CPF system and other policies.
Has the medisave become a financial burden especially to those who struggle to survive every month? Is it more important to pay to medisave or to feed my hungry baby? Please have some mercy for the sons and daughters of Singapore. If we can afford to give free scholarships to foreigners and ensure that they are fully clothed and fed; likewise please have some thought for those who have to tighten their purse strings monthly. The basis for contributing to medisave needs to be reviewed. Is the law more important than the life?
Be merciful
They are merely order takers, just follow instruction.
Monkey see monkey do.
So then do we still need thinking scholars in the system?