Hi anon,
Self Employed here as well. I do top up my CPF, but beyond the mandatory MA contributions, I specifically target my SA account via RSTU.
This tends to happen in the second half of the year as I get a clearer picture of my total income for the year. The reason iso two fold 1) I still prefer to hold cash for investment, liquidity, etc but 2) I also don't want to pay too much income tax, so RSTU helps.
If I hit the $7K limit for RSTU, then I will continue to make 3-account contributions, since that does count towards income tax relief. This amounts varies, and the contributions for this tend to come towards the last quarter of the year as I have more visibility over my total income by then.
I personally think that CPF is my last line of defense. Nothing else gives 4% returns, guaranteed, backed by a triple A government. If one day I should become incapacitated due to illness and not recover, my CPF monies will still grow, whereas my investments would probably grind to a halt without my being able to manage it.
Furthermore, CPF LIfe is the best annuity available in Singapore now, and I like the fact that it's fuss free and has very respectable returns. So I'm building up my CPF accounts now so that I won't have a problem meeting FRS or even ERS later in my life. By ensuring that I regularly contribute, the time will come whereby the quantum of increase in the CPF FRS/ERS will be lesser than the interest I earn on my monies, once there is a certain critical 'mass' of money in my SA. This, to me, means that the government is helping me meet my own retirement adequacy.
MA has its uses too, such as for getting private integrated shield plans, careshield life (CSL) supplements, etc. I'll use the OA for a house downpayment when the time comes. But really, the main purpose of CPF as I see it is for your retirement needs (having retirement income, ensuring that one can have a roof over their heads, and core medical needs in retirement partly met with national schemes such as Medishield Life and CSL)
Hi anon,
Self Employed here as well. I do top up my CPF, but beyond the mandatory MA contributions, I specifically target my SA account via RSTU.
This tends to happen in the second half of the year as I get a clearer picture of my total income for the year. The reason iso two fold 1) I still prefer to hold cash for investment, liquidity, etc but 2) I also don't want to pay too much income tax, so RSTU helps.
If I hit the $7K limit for RSTU, then I will continue to make 3-account contributions, since that does count towards income tax relief. This amounts varies, and the contributions for this tend to come towards the last quarter of the year as I have more visibility over my total income by then.
I personally think that CPF is my last line of defense. Nothing else gives 4% returns, guaranteed, backed by a triple A government. If one day I should become incapacitated due to illness and not recover, my CPF monies will still grow, whereas my investments would probably grind to a halt without my being able to manage it.
Furthermore, CPF LIfe is the best annuity available in Singapore now, and I like the fact that it's fuss free and has very respectable returns. So I'm building up my CPF accounts now so that I won't have a problem meeting FRS or even ERS later in my life. By ensuring that I regularly contribute, the time will come whereby the quantum of increase in the CPF FRS/ERS will be lesser than the interest I earn on my monies, once there is a certain critical 'mass' of money in my SA. This, to me, means that the government is helping me meet my own retirement adequacy.
MA has its uses too, such as for getting private integrated shield plans, careshield life (CSL) supplements, etc. I'll use the OA for a house downpayment when the time comes. But really, the main purpose of CPF as I see it is for your retirement needs (having retirement income, ensuring that one can have a roof over their heads, and core medical needs in retirement partly met with national schemes such as Medishield Life and CSL)