CPF Money: Standard Claim

1. How do I know if my loved one has any CPF money and if they had made a valid nomination?
The money from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) of a person who has died will be distributed in line with the nomination they made during their lifetime.

You will need to check with the CPF Board whether the person who has died had made a valid nomination for their CPF money. If they had, the CPF Board will pay the money direct to the person or people they nominated (if those people are older than 18).

If the person who has died did not make a valid nomination, the CPF Board will send their CPF money to us, as required by law.

The CPF Board will also send us the CPF money of a person who has died if the person chosen to receive that money is under 18 years old (unless she is a widow).

2. What do I need to do for the CPF money to be distributed to me?
You will need to make an online application “Administration of CPF / Baby Bonus / Edusave / PSEA Monies” at https://eservices.mlaw.gov.sg/pto so that we can deal with the money.

You will need to have your Singpass ready in order to access our online application form. You may apply for your Singpass at https://www.singpass.gov.sg if you do not have one.

If you are ineligible to apply for a Singpass, you may apply for a login ID and password through our website: https://eservices.mlaw.gov.sg/pto.

3. What are the documents that need to be submitted?
Annex A (for Muslims) and Annex B (for non-Muslims) set out the list of documents we need.

For a reimbursement of funeral expenses, Annex C sets out the list of documents we need.

You may pick up a copy of the Annexes from our office or view them from our website under Deceased CPF / Estate Monies > Information.

Common types of documents we need are shown below.

Death certificate of the person who has died (the deceased)
Birth certificate of the deceased
Marriage certificate of the deceased
Decree nisi absolute (if the deceased was divorced)
Birth certificate of beneficiary
NRIC of beneficiary
Death certificate of beneficiary (if the beneficiary has died)
Marriage certificate of the deceased’s parents
Death certificate of parents (if they have died)
Certificate of inheritance (for Muslims only)

If the person who has died was a Muslim, you will need to apply for the Certificate of inheritance at www.syariahcourt.gov.sg.

You will be assigned a case officer after you have filed your online application. Please inform your case officer if you do not possess some of the required documents. Your case officer will advise you on what to do after you have submitted your online application.

4. Whom do I submit the documents to?
You may attach the required documents in your online submission, send via e-services or post to us at the following address:

Public Trustee’s Office
The URA Centre (East Wing)
45 Maxwell Road, #07-11
Singapore 069118

Please indicate the case reference number and NRIC of the deceased on your supporting documents. This case reference number is shown after you click the submit button of your online application.

5. What are the fees charged by the Public Trustee for the administration of un-nominated CPF money?
The fees we charge for dealing with CPF money are shown below:

Amount of CPF Money	Charge
For the first $1,000	2.400%
For the next $9,000	1.500%
For the next $240,000	0.750%
For the next $250,000	0.450%
For amounts in excess of $500,000	0.300%

These fees, which we will take from the CPF money, include GST and cannot be waived. You will have to pay a minimum fee of $15.

6. How would the Public Trustee distribute the CPF money of a non-Muslim?
If the person who died was not a Muslim, we will distribute the CPF money in line with the Intestate Succession Act. The Act states that the movable property (for example, money in a bank account) will be distributed according to the law of the country in which the person was domiciled at the time of his death.

If the person who died was domiciled in Singapore at the time of their death, we will distribute the CPF money in line with the rules of distribution in the Intestate Succession Act.

(Note: The place of domicile refers to the place where the Deceased intended his permanent home to be. It does not refer to his nationality or residence.)

7. What are the Rules of Distribution under the Intestate Succession Act (Cap. 146)?
Kindly note that these Rules of Distribution apply only to a non-Muslim Deceased domiciled in Singapore.

Rules of Distribution (Non-Muslims)
Deceased Die Intestate Leaving	Distribution
Spouse No Issue No Parent	Whole share to surviving spouse
Spouse Issue	½ share to surviving spouse. ½ share to be shared equally among issue and, where they have already died, their children. Parents are not entitled.
Issue No Spouse	Whole share to be shared equally among issue and, where they have already died, their children. Parents are not entitled.
Spouse Parent No Issue	½ share to surviving spouse. ½ share to be shared equally among surviving parents.
Parents No Spouse No Issue	Whole share to be shared equally among surviving parents.
Siblings No Spouse No Issue No Parents	Whole share to be shared equally among deceased’s siblings and, where they have already died, their children.
Grandparents No Spouse No Issue No Parents No Siblings and their children	Whole share to be shared equally among surviving grandparents.
Uncles and Aunts No Spouse No Issue No Parents No Siblings and their children No Grandparents	Whole share to be shared equally among surviving uncles and aunts.

*Spouse refers to husband or wife.
*Issue means a child (legitimate or legally adopted) and the descendants of a deceased’s child. Illegitimate children and transferred children are NOT entitled under the Intestacy Rules.

8. How would the Public Trustee distribute the CPF money of a Muslim?
If the person who died was a Muslim, we will distribute the money in line with Section 112 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act according to the school of the Muslim law they observed.

The Certificate of Inheritance issued by Syariah Court will list down the beneficiaries and their share of inheritance.

9. How can I claim a reimbursement of funeral expenses out of the Deceased’s CPF money?

You can indicate the amount of funeral expenses which you would like to claim from the Deceased’s un-nominated CPF money in the online application form. Generally, claims of up to $6,000 are allowable.

Please attach your proofs of funeral expenses when you submit your application to the Public Trustee.

Only a beneficiary is eligible to claim a reimbursement of funeral expenses from the Deceased’s un-nominated CPF money.

You will also have to submit the following supporting documents to us:

a) NRIC/Passport/Social Security Card (for US Nationals)/Election Card (for Indian Nationals) of Claimant and Applicant who submitted the Online Application Form

b) Death Certificate of Deceased

c) If Claimant is:

Spouse of Deceased – Marriage Certificate
Child of Deceased – Birth Certificate of Child and Marriage Certificate of Parents
Parent of Deceased – Birth Certificate of Deceased and Marriage Certificate of Parents
Sibling of Deceased – Birth Certificate of Deceased and Birth Certificate of Sibling

d) Declaration Form (CPF monies) for funeral expenses.

e) Payments will be made to the Claimant via PayNow (which has to be registered with your NRIC) or Direct Credit to the bank account. For Direct Credit, you will need to submit a copy of the front page of the bank passbook or bank statement. For a payment request via Direct Credit to a third party bank account, both you and the account holder(s) must execute the indemnity form (Form 15) which is available at our website. For the other non-electronic modes of payment, you will bear all the charges imposed by the bank(s) which will be deducted directly from the inheritance.

f) Relevant receipts incurred for funeral expenses (not compulsory)

10. When will the CPF money be paid to me?
As a general rule, we will distribute the money within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of the full set of documentation from the beneficiaries.

Nominated CPF Money

1. The deceased had nominated his CPF money to a person (i.e. nominee) who has passed on. What should I do?
If CPF money was nominated in favour of a person ( “the nominee”) who has passed on, the money will form part of the estate of the nominee, if the nominee had passed on after the CPF member. If you are a next-of-kin of the nominee, you may apply to the Public Trustee to administer the estate of the deceased nominee if it is a small-value estate.

If the deceased nominee’s estate does not qualify for administration by the Public Trustee, you will need to apply to court for Letters of Administration or Grant of Probate to deal with the nominee’s estate, including the CPF money payable to the nominee. If you qualify for legal aid, you may apply to the Legal Aid Bureau for help in getting Letters of Administration. If you do not qualify for legal aid, you will need to hire a lawyer. Where the Public Trustee does not act for the deceased nominee’s estate, the CPF money payable to the nominee will be paid to the administrator of their estate or the executor of their will.

Please refer to our online FAQ under Estate (Other Assets) on the situations where the Public Trustee would be able to assist to administer an estate, and on how to make an online application to the Public Trustee for the administration of a deceased estate.

2. What fees do you charge for holding nominated CPF money in trust for a minor?
The fees we charge for holding nominated CPF money in trust for a minor are shown below.

Amount of CPF Money	Charge
For the first $1,000	2.400%
For the next $9,000	1.500%
For the next $240,000	0.750%
For the next $250,000	0.450%
For amounts over $500,000	0.300%

These are one-time fees, which we will take from the nominated CPF money. They include GST and cannot be waived.

The money held in trust for the minor is invested by the Public Trustee according to law. The investment earns interest for the minor from year to year. Whenever interest is to be paid to the minor, a fee is charged on the amount of the interest. The net interest amount (less the fee) is paid into the minor’s trust fund. The fee charged on the interest amount is as shown below.

Amount of Interest Earned	Charge
For the first $1,000	5.50%
For the next $1,000	4.50%
For the next $1,000	3.50%
For amounts in excess of $3,000	2.25%

Online Submission of Application

1. I need someone to assist me to submit the online application.
You may wish to get a family member or a trusted friend to assist you in completing our online application form.

2. We have notified CPF Board of the Deceased’s death last week and were told that the Deceased’s un-nominated CPF money will be forwarded to the Public Trustee for administration. We tried to submit an online application for the Public Trustee to administer the Deceased’s un-nominated CPF money. However, your system showed that there was no un-nominated CPF money for administration. What is going on?
Upon receiving notification of the death of the CPF member, the CPF Board typically requires 4 to 6 weeks to remit the un-nominated CPF money to us for administration.

You will only be able to submit an online application for the administration of the Deceased’s un-nominated CPF money after we have received the money from the CPF Board.

Once we have received the money from the CPF Board, we will write to the person who had notified the CPF Board of the death of the CPF member, to make an online application to us for the administration of the Deceased’s un-nominated CPF money.

With effect from 5 Mar 2018, all payments will be made electronically.