CPF Is Already Your First Investment
Every Singaporean's retirement plan begins before they choose a single fund. CPF pays a guaranteed, government-backed return on your balances: from 1 July to 30 September 2026, 2.5% per annum on the Ordinary Account and 4% per annum on the Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts, each subject to a legislated floor, with the 4% floor extended to 31 December 2026. The government also pays extra interest on top of these base rates: 1% on the first $60,000 of combined balances for members below 55, and 2% on the first $30,000 plus 1% on the next $30,000 for members 55 and above (both capped at $20,000 for the OA).
This changes what "investing your CPF" actually means. You are not moving idle money into the market — you are leaving a guaranteed return and betting that an approved investment can beat it, net of fees, over decades. That is a higher bar than most people realise.
How the CPF Investment Scheme Works
CPFIS has two parts. CPFIS-OA lets you invest Ordinary Account savings in excess of $20,000 (the first $20,000 must stay in the OA). CPFIS-SA lets you invest Special Account savings in excess of $40,000, but only in lower-risk products.
The product menus differ by account:
- OA (wide): unit trusts, shares, corporate bonds and property funds (up to 35% of your investible savings), gold and gold-related products (up to 10%), plus fixed deposits, endowment policies, annuities, and a specific list of SGX-listed ETFs.
- SA (narrow): selected unit trusts, government bonds and Treasury bills, fixed deposits, endowment policies and annuities. No shares, no ETFs, no gold.
Since 19 January 2025 the SA automatically closes at age 55 — balances move to the Retirement Account (up to the Full Retirement Sum) and the OA — so CPFIS-SA now applies only to members below 55.
Two rules matter more than any instrument:
- The money stays in CPF. Sale proceeds and dividends are credited back into the CPF account you invested from — never paid in cash to your bank account.
- Losses are yours. If your investment falls, your CPF balance shows the loss. The guaranteed floor you left behind is real.
The Benchmark You Must Beat
Funds chosen through CPFIS carry fees — roughly 0.25% to 0.55% a year for the approved ETFs, often 1% or more for unit trusts — while the CPF's own guaranteed rates are free. Your real hurdle is not 2.5%. It is 2.5% plus fees, plus the emotional tax of watching the balance fall while the interest you gave up keeps arriving on the account you left.
Analyses of CPFIS outcomes find that many members do not, after fees, beat the guaranteed rate over a full market cycle. The ones who do tend to hold low-cost, broad-market approved instruments for a decade or more — not speculative single names.
What Fits This Site's Dashboard
The CPFIS-approved list is small and every fund must be listed on SGX. Among the approved ETFs are the two STI funds (SPDR STI ETF — ES3 and Amova Singapore STI ETF — G3B), the ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund (A35) for government and quasi-government bonds, and the Amova SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (MBH) for SGD investment-grade credit — the last two are also on our dashboard. US- or UK-listed funds such as CSPX or VWRA are not CPFIS-eligible and cannot be bought with CPF money.
Before buying any of them, ask the honest question: could this realistically beat the guaranteed rate I am giving up, after fees? If the answer is "probably not for a long time", the disciplined alternative is to leave the funds in CPF — or, if you are below 55, transfer OA money to the SA for a risk-free 4% (a one-way move).
The Takeaway
CPF is the rare investment where doing nothing is a defensible, disciplined position. If you do invest, use only the amount above the floor, respect the account-specific product lists, and treat the guaranteed rate as the benchmark you must genuinely beat. The rules and thresholds change — verify the current position at cpf.gov.sg before acting.