Is it a good idea to top up my CPF Medisave? And why are so many people against topping up MA or SA?

Seriously??!!! People are against topping up CPF SA?

Topping up into SA gives tax deductions and you get to earn 4% per annum. I think its a good idea to top up SA.

Medisave if i recall, don't have tax deductions. SO its not my first priortiy to top up but it gives 4% interest also​​​

Topping up your MA will have far more uses than topping up your SA, since MA can be used for a variety of medical related expenses, most importantly of which is your Medishield life and Integrated Shield Plan premiums.

The BHS may increase every year, but if you are working, there should really be no issues maxing it out. Most people earning a median income will max it out by their 40s. It helps that topping up MA via VC can confer some tax reliefs, but the exact figure depends on certain criteria (can be found on IRAS website). Once maxed out, the MA interest spills over to SA, so that helps a lot as well.

Topping up SA early has tremendous compounding effects, and it does help that the tax relief can be significant. People fear what they don't understand, so I suppose they need to understand that for a 4% compounding effect to work it's magic, you can't just have freedom to withdraw at any time. Part of the reason why 4% can be achieved is because the money isn't going anywhere and can be grown for the long run.

I personally top up MA and SA directly every year. I know that I won't see the money again, but that's offset against the benefits I will receive down the road.

Yes, it's certainly a good idea to top up MA, reason being the interest that you earned in MA can be used to pay your yearly medisave premiums.

Secondly, once you max out your MA, then the contributions (that are meant for MA) will auto flow to your SA and it will definitely speed up your SA pool.

I suppose people are against because of a herd-mentality and they think the FRS is too far-fetched a goal to achieve. But once you start early and see that your CPF amount keeps increasing over time, you'll feel satisfied that you start early.

So i'll suggest that you ignore hear-says and go through this seedly forum as there are a lot of sound financial advice from many experts here. All the best!

If you intend to max out the basic sum for Medisave, then it's definitely a good idea to top up your CPF Medisave on a yearly basis. While you are at it, topping up on SA will also help your SA to hit the basic cap too! :)

Also helps you to cut back on tax payable every year. People are against topping up MA/SA because of illiquidity and they are not able to touch the funds until retirement. Also, there's quite a bit of lack of understanding on how CPF schemes are, so they are not keen to put their excess cash into something with little/no access, unless you are at the right age. Go with a different perspective/mindset on CPF MA/SA and treat it as another investment with guaranteed 4% yearly interest. The earlier you start, the more days you have to accrue interest, and more compounding takes effect. :)