You have three CPF accounts at any one time. Below 55 they are the Ordinary Account (OA) for housing, the Special Account (SA) for retirement and the MediSave Account (MA) for healthcare. At 55 the SA closes and a Retirement Account (RA) replaces it.
Each account has its own purpose, its own interest rate and its own rules about when the money can be used. This guide has the CPF accounts explained one at a time, with the figures for 2026.
CPF Accounts Explained: The Four at a Glance
| Ordinary Account | Special Account | MediSave Account | Retirement Account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When you have it | All your working life | Until 55 | All your life | From 55 |
| Main purpose | Housing | Retirement | Healthcare | Retirement income |
| Interest, Oct to Dec 2026 | 2.5% a year | 4% a year | 4% a year | 4% a year |
| Share of contributions, age 35 and below | About 62% | About 16% | About 22% | Not applicable |
| Key limit | None on the balance | Top-ups up to the Full Retirement Sum | Basic Healthcare Sum, S$79,000 in 2026 | Top-ups up to the Enhanced Retirement Sum |
Interest rates are from CPF Board. The shares are CPF Board’s 2026 allocation ratios, rounded.
Ordinary Account: Housing, and More
The OA receives the largest share of your contributions when you are young. For a worker aged 35 and below, about 62 cents of every CPF dollar goes here.
CPF Board describes housing as its main use: buying a property and servicing a home loan. OA savings can also be used for approved education, insurance and investment schemes.
It earns 2.5% a year, the minimum set in law.
Two things are worth knowing early.
First, OA money used for a home is not gone. When you sell, the amount you used plus the interest it would have earned goes back into your CPF. See CPF accrued interest when selling a flat.
Second, the OA is the only account you can draw on freely after 55, once your retirement sum is set aside.
Special Account: Retirement Savings Until 55
The SA is for retirement. You cannot spend it on housing, and you cannot withdraw it before 55.
It earns 4% a year, a floor the Government has extended to 31 December 2027. CPF Board’s overview page gives a sense of what that does over time: at a 4% base rate, savings roughly double in about 18 years.
You can add to your SA with cash top-ups or transfers from your OA, up to the current Full Retirement Sum, which is $220,400 in 2026. Both moves are one-way. We compare them in cash top-ups versus OA-to-SA transfers.
The SA does not last for life. It closes on your 55th birthday.
MediSave Account: Healthcare
MediSave pays for healthcare for you and your dependants. CPF Board lists hospitalisation, day surgery and certain outpatient expenses, as well as premiums for MediShield Life, CareShield Life, ElderShield and approved medical insurance.
It earns the same 4% as the SA.
MediSave has a ceiling called the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS). It is $79,000 in 2026, according to the Ministry of Health. The BHS is adjusted each year until you turn 65, then fixed for life.
Once your MediSave reaches the BHS, further MediSave contributions overflow to your SA or RA. If that account already holds the Full Retirement Sum, they go to your OA. More on this in MediSave top-ups and the Basic Healthcare Sum.
MediSave stays with you after 55 and after 65. It is not converted into monthly payouts.
The short version: The OA is for your home and earns 2.5%. The SA and RA are for retirement and earn 4%. MediSave is for healthcare and also earns 4%. At 55 the SA closes and the RA is created to fund your monthly payouts.
Retirement Account: Created at 55
On your 55th birthday, CPF Board creates your RA. Savings move into it from your SA first, then your OA, up to your Full Retirement Sum. The SA is then closed and any SA savings left over go to your OA.
The RA’s job is to pay you a monthly income. From 65, RA savings are used to join CPF LIFE, which pays out for as long as you live. Members born in 1958 or later are included automatically if they have at least $60,000 in retirement savings when payouts start.
RA savings earn 4% a year. From 55 you can top up the RA beyond the Full Retirement Sum, up to the Enhanced Retirement Sum of $440,800 in 2026.
We cover the changeover in what happens to your CPF at 55, and the three sums in CPF retirement sums for 2026 and 2027.
How Money Moves Between the Accounts
Most movements go one way only: towards retirement.
- OA to SA (below 55) or OA to RA (from 55): allowed within limits, not reversible.
- SA or RA back to OA: not allowed as a choice. It happens only when the SA closes at 55 with savings above the Full Retirement Sum.
- MediSave overflow: automatic, once you reach the BHS.
- Extra interest on OA savings: paid into your SA or RA, not your OA.
So each transfer towards the SA or RA buys a higher interest rate at the cost of flexibility. That trade is the thread running through every CPF strategy by age.
How the split changes as you age
The share going to each account shifts over your working life. Less goes to the OA and more to retirement and healthcare.
At 35 and below, about 62% of contributions go to the OA. From above 50 to 55 it is about 41%. After 65, most of a much smaller contribution goes to MediSave.
The full table is in CPF allocation rates by age.
What To Do Next
- Log in to the CPF website or app and look at the balance in each account. Our guide to reading your CPF statement shows where to find it.
- Use the CPF contribution calculator to see how much reaches each account every month.
- Try the CPF interest projector to see how the balances could grow at today’s rates.
- Before moving money from your OA to your SA or RA, be sure you will not need it for housing. The transfer cannot be reversed.
