Why And How Do I Make A CPF Nomination Online

Several months after Olympia was born, Heartland Boy did a digital will with MoneyOwl. However, as CPF savings will not form part of his estate, there is still a missing jigsaw piece to his estate planning. Therefore, he quickly seized on the opportunity to participate in the CPF Nomination Scheme online when this e-service was recently introduced. It was extremely convenient as the nomination process can be made from the comfort of his home (or anywhere in this world), saving a potential trip to CPF Centre for him and his witnesses. This is a review of why and how Heartland made his CPF Nomination online.

Why I Make A CPF Nomination

1. To Have Full Control On How My CPF Savings Are Distributed After My Demise

If Heartland Boy passes away without making a CPF nomination, the rule is that intestacy laws will determine how his CPF savings are distributed to his beneficiaries. Based on his current family make-up, that means that half of his assets will go to Heartland Girl (surviving spouse) and the other half will go to Heartland Baby. (See Point 7 on CPF Monies under Public Trustee’s Office) He decides to change the course of action as he would like to include his parents as beneficiaries as well. This is critical because his parents have no retirement funds and are depending on their children to support them in their golden years.

2. To Save On Administration Fees

If Heartland Boy had not participated in the CPF Nomination Scheme prior to his death, his CPF savings would be transferred to the Public Trustee’s Office (‘PTO’) for distribution to his loved ones under the Interstate Succession Act. For handling the deceased’s CPF monies, the PTO charges the beneficiaries an administration fee which would be deducted from the CPF monies. Below is a table of the summary of fees:

Based on Heartland Boy’s interpretation, a CPF member who leaves behind an un-nominated CPF amount of S$181,000 (FRS amount for Year 2020) would be levied an admin fee of $1,441 by the PTO. Compared to the fact that the CPF Nomination service is FREE, the cost-benefit analysis is pretty evident.

How To Make A CPF Nomination Online: A Step-by-Step Guide

Heartland Boy took less than 10 minutes to complete his CPF Nomination online. You can also expect to spend this amount of time if you sit in front of your computer with all the documents and information ready.

1. Login to CPF Online Services

With your SingPass, login to CPF Online Services. After completing the 2-factor authentication, go to “My Requests” and look for CPF Nomination. Click “Make A CPF Nomination” as shown in Diagram 2.

2. Decide on your nominee(s) and allocation

Punch in the particulars of your nominee(s) which consist of:

• Full Name
• NRIC
• Their relationships to you

as well the desired allocation of your CPF savings to your nominee(s). Of course, the individual allocations must eventually aggregate to 100%. Do also note that for an online CPF nomination, only a maximum of 8 nominees is allowed. Any number beyond that would have to be done physically at the CPF Service Centres.

Before proceeding to the next step, you will be asked whether you would like CPF to disclose your CPF accounts information to your nominees and or any authorised persons after your death.

3. Appoint 2 eligible witnesses

To ensure that your CPF Nomination application process is valid, you would need to appoint 2 witnesses to witness your nomination. The eligible criteria are:

• must be at least 21 years old,
• be of sound mind,
• cannot be your nominees, and
• hold SingPass accounts

Once you have found 2 eligible witnesses, you would need to provide their full name, NRIC and mobile number/email address as shown in Diagram 3.

Once you have completed your CPF Nomination process, your witnesses would be notified of their appointment and are required to login to submit their declaration within 7 calendar days. Of course, rest assured that the witnesses will not be able to view your nomination details when they are witnessing your nomination online.

4. Submit Your CPF Nomination Form Online

The last step brings you to a summary page of your nominees, the allocated percentages and the witnesses appointed. Once you have submitted your CPF Nomination form online, it would be processed within 4 working days starting from the day your witnesses complete the witnessing of your nomination. You would receive a SMS notification that your witnesses have successfully witnessed your CPF Nomination as shown in Diagram 4.

You can check the status of your online nomination under “My Activities” by logging in to my cpf Online services using your SingPass. Note that in opting to perform your CPF Nomination Scheme online, the CPF savings will be distributed to your nominees in Cash. For your CPF savings to be received in their own CPF accounts under the Enhanced Nomination Scheme (ENS) or to be given to them as monthly payouts under the Special Needs Savings Scheme (SNSS), you would need to visit CPF Service Centers.

Review Of CPF Nomination Scheme

While the CPF Nomination Scheme is not compulsory, Heartland Boy thinks it is benficial for a CPF member to participate in it. As every household’s circumstances is different, each CPF member may have a preferred way on how he/she wants his/her  CPF savings to be distributed to their beneficiaries. And that preference may not always be aligned to the manner as planned under the Interstate Succession Act (the default option).

Furthermore, a CPF Nomination can be revoked and replaced. Therefore, any regret or mistake can be rectified. Updating your CPF Nomination is encouraged if your family nucleus has changed- such as birth of a child etc. If you have more queries on the CPF Nomination Scheme, do visit the FAQ section of CPF website.

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