Debated in Parliament on 13 Apr 2015.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Manpower for each year since 2005 (a) how many CPF members have successfully applied for CPF withdrawals on each of the following medical grounds: (i) permanently incapacitated from ever continuing in any employment (ii) terminally ill with a life expectancy of 12 months or less (iii) suffering from a severely shortened life expectancy (iv) mentally incapable of handling and receiving monies (v) other reasons; (b) what is the proportion of successful applications which have been granted a full CPF withdrawal; and (c) how many applications have been rejected.
CPF members with serious medical conditions can apply for an early withdrawal of CPF savings under the CPF Medical Grounds Scheme. The current scheme was introduced in July 2006 and there are four grounds for qualifying under the scheme. Members who wish to make withdrawals on any of these grounds will need to have their medical conditions certified by a doctor either from a public medical institution or the CPF Board’s panel. Members who are terminally ill will be able to withdraw their retirement savings in full. Members who are permanently incapacitated from ever continuing in any employment, suffer from an unsound mind or have a severely reduced lifespan will be able to withdraw their retirement savings after setting aside a reduced Retirement Sum at the point the application is granted.
The number of CPF members who have successfully applied for CPF withdrawals under the Medical Grounds Scheme since 2007 is as shown in the table below.
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About two-thirds of applications between 2007 and 2014 under the Medical Grounds Scheme were successful. The remaining applications were rejected as the applicants were unable to provide the required certification from the approved doctors.
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