Currently, funds from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Special Account are transferred to the Retirement Account when a CPF member reaches the age of 55.

If funds from the Special Account are insufficient, funds from the Ordinary Account would be tapped.

I propose that CPF members be given the option to tap funds in the Ordinary Account first to form the full retirement sum.

This is because funds in the Ordinary Account earn lower interest than those in the Special Account. With more money left in the Special Account to accrue higher interest from the age of 55, a CPF member can boost the total amount of his retirement savings.

At age 55, most CPF members would have already paid up their housing loans and would have no other use for money in their Ordinary Accounts.

Fong Sau Yee