NMP Chia Yong Yong spoke about CPF at Parliament during the Budget 2015 debate. She is against the growing call for greater flexibility in the withdrawal of CPF funds. Her speech sparked an online debate on whether CPF should be returned to us upon retirement. Hosaybo extracted some of the views and suggestions by netizens on what they think will happen if CPF is returned to us.
Disclaimer - #notwesayone and our Hosaybo writer pleads guilty to #4!
1) We live in a society where it is built by each and everyone’s dream and hard work. Splurging our CPF might implicate our children as they will end up having to support the society.
2) Sure! Take all your money. You just need to give up your citizenship so you don’t burden the rest who choose to stay behind if you squander your money. Who is going to pay for you when you cannot afford your daily meals?
3) HK is planning to follow Singapore’s system because they realised after the retirees get their funds back, they splurge and now the children have to bear the brunt.
4) The trouble is that if nobody force or help you save, most will never save.
5) I have withdrawn my CPF except the Medisave account. You won’t smell your money if you go before your retirement age, but your family will benefit from it.
6) People tend to forget that they can use the CPF money to purchase property and invest in equities that generate income for them which enhance their wealth. Upon reaching 55, if their CPF balance exceeds the minimum sum requirement, they can withdraw the excess balance. The group of people who do not have enough to withdraw tends to be vulnerable as they have no other income source, therefore, it is with good intention that the government provide them with an interest higher than what they can get by depositing in the bank.
7) We find security and comfort in Singapore, our homeland. And this emotion and security is built by community effort by our pioneer generation who worked hard and supported each other. That is why it’s not an easy decision for the government to just say you can have your CPF back when some might spend it unwisely leaving those whom are working hard to bear the bring brunt to support them. If this happens, we will lose our security and comfortable stable lives.
8) Like it or not, the silver tsunami is going to hit the world. And this is something that the world has not come to understand. It could be the next financial crisis. As it is now, Japan being the economy that has the most elderly, is facing this head on. And they are financing it through debt, which means the next generation is paying for it.
9) It remains a fact that we cannot depend on CPF money for retirement. We must continue to save for our retirement
10) So what happens when you use up all your CPF money and you are still alive but unable to work?
Suggestions by Netizens
1) Allow those who have been proven to be frugal and have managed their CPF investments well to withdraw more, but not those with less than 50k and retire at 55
2) Perhaps the retirees can be given financial counselling with the return of their CPF?
And the most epic suggestion.....
3) Go and look for a job that does not pay CPF. All the money is yours and yours alone.
3) Go and look for a job that does not pay CPF. All the money is yours and yours alone.
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