How To Claim Your CPF After Leaving Singapore, What Every Expat Needs To Know

Billions of dollars sit in CPF accounts in Singapore belonging to people who worked there and left. Most of them have no idea the money is there. Some know about it but have never gotten around to claiming it. Either way the money is waiting.

If you worked in Singapore on an Employment Pass or S Pass, even for a year or two, you may have a CPF account with money in it. Here is what you need to know.

What is CPF?

CPF stands for Central Provident Fund. It is Singapore's mandatory social security savings scheme. Every employer in Singapore is required to make monthly contributions to your CPF account alongside your own contributions.

The contribution rates are significant. For workers under 55 the combined contribution rate is typically 37% of your monthly salary, 17% from your employer and 20% from you. This means that every month you worked in Singapore, more than a third of your salary was being saved into your CPF account.

The CPF is split into three accounts, the Ordinary Account for housing and investments, the Special Account for retirement, and the MediSave Account for healthcare. All three are in your name and all three contain money that belongs to you.

Do expats get CPF?

This is the question most former Singapore workers get wrong. The answer is yes, but with an important condition.

CPF contributions are mandatory for Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents. Foreign workers on Employment Passes and S Passes are generally exempt from CPF contributions for the first few years. However many foreign workers do become CPF members, particularly those on longer contracts or those who transitioned from Employment Pass to Permanent Residence status during their time in Singapore. If you were ever a Singapore PR, even briefly, you have a CPF account.

What happens to your CPF when you leave Singapore permanently?

When you leave Singapore permanently you are eligible to make a full withdrawal of your CPF savings. This is called a CPF Full Withdrawal. The money does not automatically come to you. You have to claim it. And the longer you wait the more the accounts accumulate, CPF Ordinary Accounts currently earn 2.5% interest annually and Special Accounts earn 4%.

How does CPF value build up?

CPF Ordinary Accounts earn 2.5% interest annually and Special Accounts earn 4%, so balances grow every year they remain unclaimed. We do not publish per-case value estimates, your CPF balance is confirmed by the CPF Board itself once the account is identified.

Even smaller CPF balances from brief periods of contribution are worth claiming. The money is yours. It is earning interest. And it is not going anywhere until you ask for it.

Why do so many former Singapore workers never claim their CPF?

The most common reason is not knowing the account exists. Many foreign workers in Singapore were never clearly told about their CPF membership, particularly those who moved between Employment Pass and PR status.

For those who know they have CPF the claims process from overseas can feel daunting. The CPF Board requires specific documentation, certified copies of identification and proof of permanent departure from Singapore. The process is manageable but requires navigating an unfamiliar bureaucratic system from another country.

How PensionHunter helps

PensionHunter researches CPF records using your employment history and identification details. We identify whether you have a CPF account, what the current balance is across all three sub-accounts, and what you need to do to make a full withdrawal claim.

If you also worked in other countries, Malaysia, UAE, UK, Australia, a single multi-country search covers all of them. You pay once and we search everywhere simultaneously.

Search and Global clients receive their Action Pack, a complete document, within five working days of your intake form (Country Pension Identification Report: 24 to 48 hours, Pension Identification Report) showing every pension entitlement we have found, with provider contact details and step by step instructions for claiming each one.

Worked in Singapore? You may have CPF money waiting. Register free, from $99, full refund if your Pension Identification Report delivers nothing material.

Read more about pension tracing in Singapore

*This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. PensionHunter is a research and administrative assistance service and is not regulated by the FCA or any equivalent financial regulator. If you require financial advice about your pension please consult a qualified independent financial adviser.*

At PensionHunter, building the World's Trusted Pension Identification Platform, we help people across 41 countries find pension records they had forgotten about.