The Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) and the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) are the two insurance schemes most CPF members hold without having chosen them. DPS pays your family a lump sum of up to S$70,000 if you die or become permanently disabled. HPS pays off your HDB loan in the same events.
Both are paid from CPF, both end at 65, and both are easy to overlook. Here is what each covers, what it costs and when you can opt out.
The Two Schemes Side by Side
| Dependants’ Protection Scheme | Home Protection Scheme | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Term life insurance | Mortgage-reducing insurance |
| Pays on | Death, terminal illness, total permanent disability | Death, terminal illness, total permanent disability |
| Pays out | Up to $70,000 to you or your family | The outstanding housing loan, up to the insured sum, to HDB or the bank |
| Who it is for | Working citizens and Permanent Residents aged 21 to 65 | Owners of HDB flats with a housing loan |
| Compulsory? | No. Automatic, with an opt-out | Yes, if CPF pays the instalments, unless exempted |
| Runs until | Age 65 | Age 65 or the loan is repaid, whichever is earlier |
| Premium | $18 to $298 a year, by age | Depends on loan, age, sex and share of cover |
| Paid from | CPF savings | Ordinary Account |
| Run by | Great Eastern Life | CPF Board |
What the Dependants’ Protection Scheme Covers
DPS is plain term insurance. It has no savings or investment element, so there is nothing to cash in if it ends.
According to CPF Board, Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents aged 21 to 65 are covered automatically once they make a valid CPF working contribution. Those aged 16 to 65 who are not covered automatically can apply to Great Eastern Life, the sole administrator.
It pays the sum assured if you die, are certified terminally ill, or suffer total permanent disability.
Premiums and Sum Assured
Yearly premiums rise with age:
| Age | Yearly premium | Sum assured |
|---|---|---|
| 34 and below | $18 | $70,000 |
| 35 to 39 | $30 | $70,000 |
| 40 to 44 | $50 | $70,000 |
| 45 to 49 | $93 | $70,000 |
| 50 to 54 | $188 | $70,000 |
| 55 to 59 | $298 | $70,000 |
| 60 to 64 | $298 | $55,000 |
The premium is deducted from your CPF savings when cover starts and at each yearly renewal.
If your CPF savings cannot pay the full premium, a partial premium is deducted and the sum assured is reduced in proportion, to a minimum of $5,000. To restore full cover, you pay the difference to Great Eastern Life in cash.
Since the Special Account now closes at 55, CPF Board says this may affect how some members pay, and suggests arranging another method, such as GIRO, to keep cover going.
Opting Out
DPS is voluntary. You can end it at any time by sending Great Eastern Life the opt-out form.
Consider two things before doing so. To rejoin, you must declare your health, and cover is given only if you are in good health then. And at $18 to $50 a year below 45, the cost is small for what it pays.
The limit is the amount. A payout of $70,000 is a base, not a plan. For a household that spends $5,000 a month, it lasts 14 months.
What the Home Protection Scheme Covers
HPS protects the flat, not the family’s income. If an insured owner dies, becomes terminally ill or suffers total permanent disability, HPS settles the outstanding housing loan, up to the insured sum. The money goes directly to HDB or the bank.
Who must have it. You are required to be insured if you use CPF savings to pay the monthly instalments on an HDB flat. If you pay in cash, it is optional, and CPF Board encourages you to apply.
What it does not cover. Private residential property, including executive condominiums and privatised HUDC flats.
How long. Until you are 65, or the loan is fully repaid, whichever comes first. If your loan runs beyond 65, the last years are uninsured.
Health. Cover depends on your health. You must declare it truthfully. Cover based on false information can be voided and claims refused.
Share of Cover
Each owner chooses a share of cover. This is the part of the loan HPS would pay if something happened to that owner.
- Your share must be at least the share of the monthly instalment you pay.
- The household total must be at least 100%.
- Each owner may insure up to 100%.
Take an illustrative couple with a $400,000 loan, each covered for 50%. If one dies, HPS pays about half the outstanding loan. The survivor still owes the other half, on one income.
If each had been covered for 100%, the whole loan would be cleared. The premium is higher, because each is insuring the full loan.
Premiums
There is no fixed table. CPF Board works out the premium from the loan amount, the loan term, the type of loan rate (HDB concessionary or market), your age and sex, and your share of cover. The HPS premium calculator gives your figure.
Premiums are deducted from your Ordinary Account once a year. You pay for only 90% of the cover period, so a 30-year cover needs 27 years of premiums.
If your OA is short, CPF Board prompts you to top up. A co-owner can authorise the use of his or her OA for the shortfall. Missed premiums can cause cover to lapse, and reapplying depends on your health at that time.
The short version: DPS pays your family up to $70,000 and costs from $18 a year. HPS clears your HDB loan if you die or are permanently disabled before 65. Both end at 65, and both depend on choices you may not have reviewed, such as your HPS share of cover.
Getting an Exemption From the Home Protection Scheme
You can be exempted from HPS if private insurance already covers the loan. CPF Board accepts:
- Whole life and term life policies.
- Endowment policies.
- Life riders attached to a basic policy.
- Mortgage-reducing term assurance and decreasing term riders.
The policies must cover the outstanding loan for death, terminal illness and total permanent disability, for the full loan term or until 65, whichever is earlier.
You apply through your insurer, not CPF Board. If the exemption reaches CPF Board within one month of the HPS cover being issued, the full premium is refunded to your OA. After that, the refund is pro-rated.
Policies that are assigned, pledged as collateral or in a foreign currency are among those not accepted.
Whether to rely on HPS or a private policy is a comparison of cost, cover and what else the private policy does. Compare them like for like. We do not rank products.
What These Schemes Do Not Do
- Neither pays for hospital bills. That is MediShield Life.
- Neither replaces income for long. DPS is a modest lump sum.
- Neither covers you after 65.
- The DPS payout is not covered by your CPF nomination. It needs its own nomination with Great Eastern Life.
What To Do Next
- Check on the CPF website whether you are covered under DPS and HPS, and for how much.
- Look at your HPS share of cover. If you and a co-owner are each at 50%, ask whether the survivor could carry half the loan alone.
- If you opted out of DPS years ago, weigh the premium against the cover at your current age.
- Review cover whenever you change your home loan or refinance.
- Add these policies to your family’s records with our legacy readiness checklist.
