In response to a Facebook post by Mdm Rahayu regarding the unclaimed CPF monies she received as a nominee, we would like to clarify that the CPF Board, upon being informed of a member’s death, acts promptly to invite the nominee(s) to make a claim on the deceased’s CPF savings. Upon ascertaining that a deceased member has made a valid nomination, we will contact the nominee(s) so that we can disburse the deceased’s CPF savings to them. If there is no valid nomination, the savings will be passed to the Public Trustee for distribution under intestacy laws.
In Mdm Rahayu’s case in 1987, all of the deceased's CPF monies at the time of her application was disbursed within two months except for a small residual amount which was retained for a specific housing-related transaction. This amount continued to attract interest until it was deducted several months later for the transaction. The interest accrued – which amounted to less than $2 – remained unclaimed. This unclaimed amount is a small fraction of the monies that were paid out to Mdm Rahayu soon after her mother’s demise.
The Board makes every effort to disburse all unclaimed monies to the beneficiaries. As part of our regular review of cases with unclaimed residual monies recently, our staff invited her to make the claim. In line with CPF legislation, all outstanding CPF balances in deceased CPF members’ accounts will earn interest of up to seven years from the date of death. Thereafter, interest payment will cease.
We have contacted Mdm Rahayu to explain the details to her. We are also reviewing the process of disbursing nomination monies to see how we can improve it further.
(CPF Facebook post)