If you keep working after 65, CPF still applies to your pay, but at lower rates: 16.5% of wages in 2026 for employees aged above 65 to 70, and 12.5% above 70. Your salary does not reduce your CPF LIFE payouts, and you can choose to start them at 65 or leave them to grow until 70.
More than a few readers will work past 65, by choice or by need. Here is what the rules are and how work changes your CPF.
The Retirement and Re-Employment Ages
Two statutory ages govern how long an employer must keep you on. According to MOM:
- Minimum retirement age: 64, from 1 July 2026. Your employer cannot ask you to retire before this on grounds of age.
- Re-employment age: 69, from 1 July 2026. Employers must offer eligible employees re-employment up to this age.
MOM says these will rise to 65 and 70 from 1 January 2029.
The retirement age depends on when you were born. MOM lists 62 for those born from 1 July 1958 to 30 June 1960, 63 for those born from 1 July 1960 to 30 June 1963, and 64 for those born on or after 1 July 1963. The re-employment age is 69 for all three groups.
Who must be offered re-employment
MOM’s conditions are that you:
- are a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident;
- have served your employer for at least two years before turning 64, if you joined at 55 or older;
- have satisfactory work performance, as assessed by your employer; and
- are medically fit to continue working.
Re-employment contracts run for at least one year and are renewable yearly up to 69. The job and pay may be adjusted. If your employer cannot find a suitable role, MOM’s guidelines provide for a one-off Employment Assistance Payment of 3.5 months’ salary, with a minimum of S$6,250 and a maximum of $14,750.
None of this stops you working past 69 if you and an employer agree. The statutory ages set what employers must offer, not when you must stop.
CPF Contributions When Working After 65
CPF contributions continue for as long as you are an employee, at rates that step down with age. These are CPF Board’s 2026 rates for monthly wages above $750.
| Your age | Employer | Employee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Above 55 to 60 | 16% | 18% | 34% |
| Above 60 to 65 | 12.5% | 12.5% | 25% |
| Above 65 to 70 | 9% | 7.5% | 16.5% |
| Above 70 | 7.5% | 5% | 12.5% |
From 1 January 2027, the rates for those aged above 55 to 65 rise again. The rates for those above 65 stay the same. See the full contribution table by age and what changes in January 2027.
A worked example
An illustrative employee aged 67 earns $3,000 a month in 2026.
- Employer contributes 9%: $270.
- Employee contributes 7.5%: $225.
- Total into CPF: $495 a month.
- Take-home pay: $2,775.
Compare that with a 50-year-old on the same salary, who takes home $2,400 after a 20% employee contribution. Lower CPF rates mean more cash in hand, and less going into savings.
Where the $495 goes
For this age group most of the contribution goes to MediSave. Using CPF Board’s 2026 allocation rates for those aged above 65 to 70:
- MediSave Account: about $315.
- Retirement Account (RA): about $150.
- Ordinary Account: about $30.
Two rules redirect the flows. The RA portion goes to your RA only up to your Full Retirement Sum; beyond that, it goes to your Ordinary Account, which you can withdraw. And once your MediSave reaches the Basic Healthcare Sum, the excess moves on to your other accounts.
How Working Affects Your CPF LIFE Payouts
A salary does not reduce them
CPF LIFE is not means-tested. CPF Board says the retirement and re-employment ages do not affect when you can start your payouts. Your payout eligibility age is 65 whether you are working or not.
New contributions can raise them
If you have already started payouts, money still flows into your RA while you work. CPF Board says that under the Standard and Escalating Plans, these later inflows are automatically used to increase your CPF LIFE premium and your monthly payouts. For the Basic Plan, it says the premium is increased when the revised payout would rise by at least $10.
The effect of $150 a month is modest, but it is automatic and it lasts for life.
You can let payouts wait
If your pay covers your expenses, you do not need to start at 65. CPF Board says payouts rise by up to 7% for each year you defer, up to 35% at 70. On its 2026 estimates for a member with the Full Retirement Sum, that is about $2,380 a month from 70 instead of about $1,780 from 65.
Working is the most natural way to fund a deferral. See deferring CPF LIFE to 70 for the break-even arithmetic.
The short version: After 65, CPF contributions drop to 16.5% of wages, then 12.5% after 70, so you take home more. Working does not cut your CPF LIFE payouts. You can collect them alongside a salary, or defer to 70 for up to 35% more.
Start Payouts or Defer While Working?
There is no single right answer. A few things to weigh:
- Do you need the cash? If wages cover your spending, deferring raises your lifelong income. If they do not, the payouts are there to be used.
- How long will you work? Deferring to the month you stop work is a common middle path.
- What would you do with payouts you do not spend? Money left in a bank account earns less than the same money left in CPF LIFE to grow your payout.
- Health and family history. Deferring pays off the longer you live.
Extra Support for Lower-Wage Senior Workers
If you earn between $500 and $3,000 a month, you may receive the Workfare Income Supplement. CPF Board’s table shows a maximum of $4,900 a year for employees aged 60 and above for work done in 2025, paid 40% in cash and 60% in CPF. Check CPF Board’s page for the figures that apply to 2026, and for the property and spouse-income conditions.
Citizens aged 65 and above with low lifetime wages may also receive Silver Support, which is assessed on household income per person.
What To Do Next
- Check your payslip: the employee deduction should match the rate for your age band.
- Log in to the CPF website to see where your contributions are going and whether your RA has reached the Full Retirement Sum.
- If you are approaching 64, ask your employer about re-employment terms in good time.
- Decide whether to start or defer payouts using CPF’s estimator and our retirement timeline calculator, and see what a higher RA means in the CPF retirement sum planner.
- Read how to start your CPF LIFE payouts when you are ready.
