Singapore — CPF members can nominate their beneficiaries online, for more convenience and better privacy protection, the Central Provident Fund Board (CPF) said on Wednesday (Jan 22).
It said: “Under the hard copy process, details of the nomination, such as who the nominees are and the amount to be distributed to them, may inadvertently be seen by the witnesses. Under the new online nomination mode, nomination details such as the identities of nominees will not be revealed to witnesses.”
According to straitstimes.com, over 900 individuals have opted to make nominations online since its implementation earlier this month.
The process is very simple. Members need to log on to cpf.gov.sg and use their SingPass account for online access. They then provide the NRIC particulars and contact information of their witness. The latter will, in turn, receive a notice via SMS, email or both, and must confirm the nomination within one week.
The CPF Board then processes the nomination and will notify the member via SMS, email or both, on the status of the nomination.
This enables members to choose how they desire for their CPF savings to be distributed, as well as how much each nominee receives.
Should a CPF member fail to nominate anyone, the savings will be disbursed by the Public Trustee’s Office to his or her legally entitled beneficiaries, but with an additional fee charged.
The CPF Board also issued a reminder saying savings are not part of one’s estate, and therefore do not fall under a person’s will, which protects the savings from creditor claims for any existing loans. This also guarantees that the members’ loved ones would be able to claim their savings in full.
In Parliament last November, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said the CPF Board was looking at the possibility of electronically electing a CPF beneficiary.
It was reported on Oct 21 that the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office (IPTO) was in possession of S$211 million, mostly made up of CPF monies.
In 2018, according to straitstimes.com, S$63.2 million from CPF monies that belonged to 3,540 people who had not named their beneficiaries went to the IPTO.
It was told by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law that the total amount of unclaimed funds from the Government in the previous six years reached S$240 million.
Most of this amount belonged to people who had died without saying who was to receive their CPF funds. The other S$29 million, which was in the possession of different agencies, was made up of tax refunds, levy bonds and immigration deposits.
Five Members of Parliament then asked for the processes by which unused CPF funds would be disbursed to those who could inherit them, according to a report in todayonline.
Mrs Teo said that those who had died without nominating a beneficiary were usually under 45 years old and so having an electronic nomination system would make it easier for them to do so. -/TISG
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