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CPF refutes man's allegations that he can only get $15 monthly payouts

(Yahoo News Singapore file photo)
FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore

SINGAPORE — The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board has clarified claims by a 69-year-old man on his Facebook page that he can receive just $15 a month from his CPF payouts.

It explained in a statement on its website on Monday (9 September) that the man, Michael Toh Thiam Hock, had already depleted his Retirement Account, after receiving payouts since 2013.

It also refuted his claims that most of his CPF savings had been transferred to MediSave without his authorisation.

“This is not true. If there were such transfers, it would appear on his CPF statements,” CPF Board said in the statement.

Money transferred and locked away, man claims

Toh had put up a Facebook post on Friday, saying that he has a total amount of $66,516.02 in his CPF account. However, he claimed that “all the money were transferred to various accounts without my agreement and permission and locked away for my retirement expenses”.

He wrote, “CPF on 3 September 2019 just returned and released back to me only only $15.00 into my POSB bank account for my retirement expenses for the month of September. How to live and survive on just $15.00 per month? Why transferred most of my money to my Medisave account? I will die of hunger before I have the chance of being sick by then.”

Eligible for withdrawal from accounts

CPF Board said in its statement on Monday that it had already responded to Toh’s allegation in February this year, informing him that although he does not have enough CPF savings to meet his cohort Basic Retirement Sum, he is eligible to make a withdrawal of about $10,000 from his Ordinary Account and Special Account savings.

“To date, he has not applied for his lump sum withdrawal,” it added.

CPF Board also noted that Toh has used $86,000 of his CPF savings to meet his housing, healthcare and retirement needs. Over $54,000 was used for his flat, which is now fully paid up.

Toh has also withdrawn over $9,000 from his Retirement Account since 2013. Although it is now depleted, he continues to receive $15 monthly due to the government paying extra interest on his Ordinary Account savings.

CPF Board has advised Toh to enhance his retirement income through options such as renting out a room, right-sizing his flat or selling a portion of his flat’s lease back to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) under the Lease Buyback Scheme.

It added that HDB officers are available to guide him through the process.

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