CPF OA vs Investing Calculator

Compare leaving money in your Ordinary Account with three investment scenarios, after fees.

Left in the Ordinary Account (guaranteed)–

Amount today: –
Interest earned in the Ordinary Account: –
Return needed, before fees, just to match the OA: –

Side By Side

Option	Return a year	After fees	Value at the end	Against the OA

Only the Ordinary Account figure is guaranteed. The investment figures are illustrations of what would happen if your assumed returns came true every year. Actual returns are not guaranteed, vary from year to year and can be negative.

What This Comparison Shows

Money in your Ordinary Account earns a rate that cannot fall below 2.5% a year. Once you keep $20,000 in the account, the rest can be invested under the CPF Investment Scheme. Investing swaps a known rate for an unknown one: it may turn out higher or lower.

So the useful question is not "what will I earn?" but "what happens across a range of outcomes?" Enter a poor, a middle and a good yearly return. The tool takes fees off each one and sets the end values beside the Ordinary Account figure.

Look at two things. First, how far below the Ordinary Account the poor outcome lands, and whether you could live with that. Second, the return you need just to match the Ordinary Account once fees are paid. The CPF Board's own guidance is to invest only if you are confident of earning more than the CPF interest rate, and to count fees as part of the cost.

Assumptions And Limits

The Ordinary Account earns the rate you enter every year. The default 2.5% is the current rate and the legislated minimum; CPF reviews the rate every quarter.
The three investment returns are your own assumptions, shown as an illustration. They are not forecasts and not guaranteed. Real investments do not grow at a steady yearly rate: they rise and fall, and you can lose part or all of what you put in.
Each scenario applies the same return every year and takes the yearly fee off the balance at the end of each year. Sales charges, platform and transaction fees charged in other ways are left out, so add them to the fee if they apply.
Only Ordinary Account savings above $20,000 can be invested under the CPF Investment Scheme. This tool compares a single lump sum and ignores new contributions.
Extra CPF interest is left out. It is paid on up to $20,000 of Ordinary Account savings, which is the part that has to stay in the account anyway.
Money invested from the Ordinary Account, and any gains, go back to your CPF when you sell. It does not become cash in hand.

This calculator was built with AI tools from published rules and may contain errors. Results are estimates for education only, not financial advice and not a guarantee. Rates and rules change; confirm with the official source before you act. Your figures stay in your browser: nothing you type is sent to us.

CPF OA vs Investing Calculator

The Amount

If You Invest Instead (Illustration, Not Guaranteed)

Side By Side

What This Comparison Shows

Assumptions And Limits

Sources

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