To start CPF LIFE payouts, you tell CPF Board when you want them to begin, using the “Plan my monthly payouts” service on the CPF website. You can apply from three months before the month you turn 65, processing normally takes up to two weeks, and if you never apply, payouts begin automatically at 70.
Nothing starts at 65 unless you ask. Here are the steps, the timeline, the two decisions you will be asked to make, and what the default looks like.
The Timeline at a Glance
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Three months before you turn 65 | CPF Board notifies you of your options. The “Plan my monthly payouts” service opens to you. |
| After you submit instructions | Processing normally takes three days to two weeks. |
| One week before payouts start | Any Ordinary Account transfer to your Retirement Account is made, and your CPF LIFE premium is deducted. |
| Payout start | At 65, or within one month after your instruction is processed, whichever is later. |
| Any time from 65 to 70 | You can apply to start, if you have not already. |
| The month you turn 70 | Payouts start automatically if you have given no instruction. |
Source: CPF Board’s Reaching age 65 page and related service articles.
How to Start CPF LIFE Payouts, Step by Step
1. Look at your numbers first
Log in to the CPF website with Singpass and open your Retirement Dashboard. Note your Retirement Account (RA) balance and the estimated payout.
2. Check where the money will be paid
Payouts go to the bank account you have registered with CPF Board. To receive them by PayNow, CPF Board asks you to do a one-time update to your PayNow NRIC-linked bank account. It suggests doing this early to avoid delays.
3. Open “Plan my monthly payouts”
This is CPF Board’s online application. It shows your estimated payouts and how each choice changes them, then takes your instructions. If you cannot apply online, contact CPF Board for other ways to submit your instructions.
4. Make your choices
You will be asked to decide:
- when payouts start;
- which CPF LIFE plan you want;
- whether to use any withdrawable savings to increase your payouts.
The next two sections cover the main ones.
5. Submit and wait
CPF Board says normal processing takes three days to two weeks, and that applications with several payout decisions may take the full two weeks. Your first payout then arrives at 65, or within a month of processing if you are already past 65.
If you want payouts from the month you turn 65, applying in the three-month window before your birthday leaves room for this.
Decision One: Your Start Age
You can start at any age from 65 to 70.
CPF Board says payouts increase by up to 7% for each year you defer, up to 35% if you wait until 70. On its 2026 estimates for a male member on the Standard Plan with the Full Retirement Sum, that is about S$1,780 a month from 65 or about $2,380 a month from 70. These are CPF’s estimates, not guarantees.
Starting later suits people with other income, such as a salary, to live on in the meantime. Starting at 65 suits people who need the money now. Both are reasonable. We work through the break-even age in deferring CPF LIFE to 70, and the effect of a salary in working after 65.
CPF Board also says that if payouts have already started and you do not need the money yet, you can hold them back until 70. You defer or restart them through the same “Plan my monthly payouts” service, any time before 70.
Decision Two: Your Plan
You choose your CPF LIFE plan when you start payouts, not before.
| Plan | Payout pattern | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Level for life | All RA savings |
| Escalating | Starts lower, rises 2% a year | All RA savings |
| Basic | Starts lower, falls when CPF balances drop below $60,000 | About 10% to 20% of RA savings |
Standard gives the most at the start. Escalating gives more later, which helps as prices rise. Basic keeps more in your RA but pays less. See Standard, Basic or Escalating for the full comparison.
Treat the plan as a long-term choice. Ask CPF Board what can be changed afterwards before you submit.
The short version: Apply through “Plan my monthly payouts” from three months before you turn 65. Choose a start age between 65 and 70 and a CPF LIFE plan. Allow up to two weeks for processing. If you do nothing, payouts start at 70 on the Standard Plan.
What Happens to Your Accounts When Payouts Start
For members born in 1958 or later, CPF Board describes three things.
- A possible Ordinary Account transfer. If you have not set aside your Full Retirement Sum in cash, Ordinary Account savings are transferred to your RA to make it up, which raises your payouts. If you were counting on that Ordinary Account money for something else, check your Retirement Dashboard before you apply.
- The premium is deducted. Your RA savings pay your CPF LIFE premium. The premium keeps earning interest, which is factored into your payouts.
- An extra withdrawal becomes available. From 65, you can withdraw up to 20% of your RA savings as at 65. CPF Board’s withdrawal rules indicate this includes the first $5,000 that could be withdrawn from 55, and excludes top-ups and government grants. (Those born in 1957 can withdraw a smaller additional amount, which depends on birth year.) If you neither withdraw this amount nor use it to increase your payouts, it moves to your Ordinary Account for later.
That last choice is a trade-off. Money taken out is yours to spend but no longer earns you a payout. See questions to ask before moving CPF money.
If You Do Nothing by 70
Doing nothing is allowed, and for five years it works as a deferral. Your RA goes on earning interest and your eventual payout grows.
At 70, the default takes over:
- Payouts start automatically in the month you turn 70. You cannot defer further.
- If you are on CPF LIFE and have not chosen a plan, you are placed on the Standard Plan.
- If you are not on CPF LIFE, payouts are made from your RA under the Retirement Sum Scheme until it is depleted.
The risk in the default is practical. Automatic payouts still need somewhere to go, so keep your bank details with CPF Board current. And the default plan may not be the one you would have picked.
If you are not on CPF LIFE
Members born before 1958, and those with less than $60,000 in retirement savings when payouts start, are not automatically included. The steps to start payouts are the same, and you will be offered the option to join CPF LIFE, which is open until one month before you turn 80. See Retirement Sum Scheme versus CPF LIFE.
What To Do Next
- About three months before 65, look out for CPF Board’s notification and log in to “Plan my monthly payouts”.
- Update your bank account or PayNow details with CPF Board.
- Compare start ages with our retirement timeline calculator and check your balance against the retirement sums in the CPF retirement sum planner.
- Review your CPF nomination at the same time. See what happens to your CPF LIFE money when you die.
- New to the scheme? Start with how CPF LIFE works.
