“I’ve already planned for my children.” When people say this, it often means they have done one thing: a CPF nomination, or a will. One does not cover the other. A will cannot pass on your CPF savings, and a CPF nomination does not cover your flat, bank accounts or CPF investments.
In Singapore, your CPF savings and the rest of your estate follow different rules. Here is what each document does, what falls through the gaps, and what the law decides if you leave nothing in writing.
Your Will Cannot Pass On Your CPF
CPF Board is direct about this: CPF savings cannot be included in your will because they do not form part of your estate. Only a CPF nomination decides who receives them.
A CPF nomination covers:
- Savings in your Ordinary, Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts.
- Any remaining CPF LIFE premium balance.
- Discounted Singtel shares bought under the 1993 or 1996 special schemes.
You can nominate any person or organisation, and MoneySense says there is no limit on the number of nominees; CPF Board says that for more than 15, you need to visit a CPF service centre rather than nominate online. MoneySense says you must be at least 16 and of sound mind.
What Happens Without a CPF Nomination
If you have no nomination, the Public Trustee’s Office distributes your CPF savings according to intestacy law, or according to a Certificate of Inheritance for Muslims. You do not get a say in who receives what.
CPF Board says the Public Trustee’s Office may take up to six months to identify eligible family members. It also deducts an administrative fee before paying out.
Making a nomination is free. You can do it online with Singpass, with two witnesses aged 21 and above who cannot be your nominees. ServiceSG Centres can help if you are not comfortable doing it alone.
The short version: A will cannot pass on your CPF savings, and a CPF nomination cannot pass on your flat or your CPF investments. Most people need both, and both need reviewing after major life events, especially marriage.
What Your CPF Nomination Does Not Cover
Several things people assume are “CPF” fall outside the nomination. CPF Board lists:
- Property bought with CPF savings. How it passes depends on how you own it (see below).
- Dependants’ Protection Scheme payouts. These need a separate DPS nomination.
- CPF Investment Scheme investments, and any cash in your CPF investment account. These form part of your estate, except insurance policies where you made a nomination with the insurer.
How your home passes on
For property, the manner of holding matters:
- Sole owner: your share is part of your estate, distributed under your will, or intestacy law if there is none.
- Joint tenancy: your share passes automatically to the surviving owner or owners, even if your will says otherwise.
- Tenancy-in-common: your share goes to your estate, under your will or intestacy law.
Check how you hold your flat before you write a will, because a will cannot override joint tenancy.
Intestacy Basics: Who Gets What Without a Will
For non-Muslims domiciled in Singapore, the Intestate Succession Act decides. The Public Trustee’s Office summarises the main rules:
| Who survives you | Who receives your estate |
|---|---|
| Spouse only (no children, no parents) | Spouse receives everything |
| Spouse and children | Spouse half; children share the other half equally |
| Children only | Children share everything equally |
| Spouse and parents (no children) | Spouse half; parents share the other half equally |
| Parents only | Parents share everything equally |
| Siblings only | Siblings share equally; a deceased sibling’s children take their share |
If none of these survive you, the estate goes to grandparents, then uncles and aunts, and finally to the Government. A deceased child’s share passes to their own children. Our guide to who gets your flat, CPF and savings without a will walks through it.
Two points surprise people. When you leave a spouse and children, your parents receive nothing. And the Public Trustee’s Office notes that illegitimate children and “transferred” children are not entitled under the intestacy rules.
For Muslims, the Intestate Succession Act does not apply. Estates are distributed under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, with the Syariah Court issuing a Certificate of Inheritance.
Life Events That Change Things
Marriage revokes your CPF nomination. CPF Board says any existing nomination is revoked on marriage. If you do not make a new one, your CPF savings are distributed under intestacy law.
Divorce does not. An ex-spouse named in your nomination stays there until you change it.
CPF Board suggests reviewing your nomination at least once a year, and after events such as the birth of a child, a divorce or the death of a nominee. If raising it at home feels awkward, see how to start the family conversation.
CPF Nomination vs Will: A Quick Checklist
- CPF savings: CPF nomination.
- Flat and other property: check the manner of holding; a will for sole or tenancy-in-common shares.
- Bank accounts, shares, CPF investments, personal belongings: a will.
- Insurance policies: check the nominations you made with each insurer.
- Who decides if you are alive but unable to: a Lasting Power of Attorney, which is separate from all of the above.
Our printable legacy readiness checklist covers the same items in more detail.
What To Do Next
- Log in to the CPF website and check whether you have a nomination and when you last updated it.
- Find out how you hold your flat: joint tenancy or tenancy-in-common.
- If you do not have a will, consider making one. A lawyer is the right choice for complex estates, blended families or overseas assets.
- Talk to your family about where your documents are kept, so no one has to search for them later.
