Why do I need to pay interest on CPF used for housing after property sale?

When you withdraw your CPF savings to pay for a property, you are actually using savings that could have supported your retirement needs. 

This is why when the property is sold, you have to put back what was withdrawn from your CPF savings, plus the interest you would have earned if the money had not been withdrawn. This is the total sum you would have saved for retirement if you had not used CPF to buy the property. 

You can use your CPF savings, including the refunded amount from the previous property, to buy another property. 

Did you know? You do not have to top up in cash if you sold your property at market value but the selling price was not enough to fully pay back your CPF savings used plus interest. 

If you are aged 55 or above: 
If you had withdrawn your Retirement Account savings above your Basic Retirement Sum because you owned a property, you will also need to put back the amount withdrawn. 

These CPF refunds will be used to help you meet the Full Retirement Sum (FRS). This will provide higher payouts in retirement to support day-to-day living expenses and pay for rent (since your property has been sold). You will get back in cash any CPF refund above the FRS.