CPF Nomination Singapore: How to Make One, What Marriage Does to It, and What Happens When You Die Without One

Your CPF savings — Ordinary Account, Special Account, MediSave Account, Retirement Account — cannot be distributed through a will. This surprises many Singaporeans who assume that whatever is in their will covers all their assets. It does not. Your CPF is governed by the CPF Act, which operates entirely separately from estate law.

If you die without a valid CPF nomination, your savings go to the Public Trustee's Office, which then distributes them according to the Intestate Succession Act (for non-Muslims) or the Administration of Muslim Law Act (for Muslims). That process can take up to six months, incurs administration fees deducted directly from the money, and will distribute funds according to a statutory formula — not according to your wishes.

Understanding how CPF nominations work is one of the most practical things you can do in estate planning.

What a CPF Nomination Does

A CPF nomination is a legal instruction to the CPF Board specifying who receives your CPF savings after your death, and in what proportions. When you die with a valid nomination in place:

• The CPF Board contacts your nominees directly
• The funds are disbursed in cash to your nominees within a few weeks
• No probate is required
• No Public Trustee fees are deducted
• The distribution completely bypasses your will

The simplicity and speed of a valid CPF nomination compared to the Public Trustee route is significant. For many Singaporean families, CPF is the largest financial asset outside the family home.

What CPF Nomination Covers

A CPF nomination covers:

• Ordinary Account savings
• Special Account savings
• MediSave Account savings
• Retirement Account savings
• Discounted Singtel shares held via CPF

What a CPF nomination does NOT cover:

• CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) assets — shares, unit trusts, and gold bought through CPFIS are not part of the CPF nomination. They form part of your legal estate and are distributed through your will or the Intestate Succession Act.
• Home Protection Scheme (HPS) — this is a mortgage-reducing insurance that pays out directly to clear an outstanding HDB loan, not a cash payout to nominees.
• Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) — this is a term life insurance managed by Great Eastern Life. The payout requires the next-of-kin to submit a separate claim directly to Great Eastern. It is not covered by the CPF nomination.

How to Make a CPF Nomination

Making a CPF nomination is free and takes about 15 minutes online.

Step 1: Log in to the CPF website (cpf.gov.sg) using Singpass.

Step 2: Go to "Submit/Edit Nomination" under the My Nominations section.

Step 3: Enter your nominees' details — their full name, NRIC number, and their relationship to you. You can nominate any person, regardless of relationship (including unmarried partners, friends, and charities — though for Muslims, see the hibah fatwa below).

Step 4: Specify the proportion each nominee receives (must total 100%).

Step 5: You must have two witnesses who are at least 21 years old, are not your nominees, and are not spouses of your nominees. The witnesses must sign the nomination form either physically (using the paper form available from CPF Service Centres) or digitally through the CPF online system.

Once submitted, your nomination is stored with the CPF Board and takes effect immediately. You can check your existing nomination at any time via Singpass.

What Happens When You Die Without a CPF Nomination

If there is no valid nomination:

1. Your CPF savings transfer to the Public Trustee's Office
2. The PTO distributes the funds according to the Intestate Succession Act (or AMLA for Muslims)
3. The PTO charges an administration fee — 6.5% on the first S$5,000, dropping to 2.25% on the next S$30,000, with a minimum of S$15
4. The process takes several months and requires beneficiaries to provide extensive documentation proving lineage

Under the Intestate Succession Act, an unmarried partner receives nothing. If you want your partner to receive any part of your CPF savings, you must make a nomination — there is no other mechanism.

CPF Nomination After Marriage: The Critical Trap

Marriage automatically revokes your existing CPF nomination. This is one of the most widely misunderstood rules in Singapore estate planning.

If you made a CPF nomination before your marriage, that nomination becomes void the moment you marry — unless the nomination was made specifically in contemplation of that marriage and that marriage takes place. If you die after marrying without making a new CPF nomination, your funds go to the Public Trustee.

Divorce does not revoke a CPF nomination. This is the opposite of what most people expect. If you nominated your former spouse and then divorced but never updated your nomination, your ex-spouse still receives your CPF savings.

The rule about marriage applies equally to remarriage. If you are widowed or divorced and remarry, your existing CPF nomination — even a carefully updated one — is automatically revoked again at the moment of your new marriage.

Action required: Update your CPF nomination immediately after any marriage or remarriage.

CPF Nomination After Marriage: Blended Families

The revocation trap is particularly consequential in blended families. Consider a common scenario: a widower with adult children from his first marriage remarries. He had nominated his children. Upon remarriage, those nominations are immediately revoked. If he dies before updating his nominations, his CPF savings go to the Public Trustee, who distributes them under intestacy rules — which may include his new spouse in the distribution, reducing what his children from his first marriage receive.

The solution is straightforward: make a new CPF nomination immediately after the marriage ceremony. Do not wait.

CPF Nominations for Muslim Singaporeans

The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) issued a fatwa recognising CPF nominations as a form of hibah — an inter-vivos gift made during one's lifetime. Because the nomination operates as a gift rather than inheritance, it is entirely exempt from the Faraid rules that normally govern Muslim estate distribution.

This means:

• A Muslim CPF member can nominate anyone, including adopted children, non-Muslim relatives, or charities
• The nominated amount bypasses Faraid completely
• Un-nominated Faraid heirs have no legal claim over nominated CPF savings

For Muslim families wanting to protect specific dependants who are not Faraid heirs, the CPF nomination is the most effective legal tool available.

Checking and Updating Your Nomination

You can view your current CPF nomination at any time through the CPF website using Singpass. Review it:

• After any marriage or remarriage (immediate action)
• After a divorce (to remove an ex-spouse if intended)
• After the birth of a child (to include them)
• If a nominee predeceases you (their share reverts to the Public Trustee if not updated)
• Every few years as part of a regular estate planning review

A nominee who dies before you does not automatically trigger a revocation — the nomination remains in force, but the deceased nominee's share will default to the Public Trustee rather than passing to their descendants or other nominees. If this is not your intention, update your nomination.

CPF in the Context of Your Full Estate Plan

Your CPF nomination is one piece of a complete estate plan. The other pieces — your will (for legal estate assets), your LPA (for incapacity), and your AMD (for end-of-life medical decisions) — work alongside it but cannot substitute for it.

The Singapore End-of-Life Planning Guide covers CPF nominations alongside HDB inheritance rules, will requirements, and the full executor's checklist — including how to claim CPFIS assets through probate and how to submit DPS claims to Great Eastern Life after a death.

Making a CPF nomination takes fifteen minutes. Not having one in force after a marriage is a mistake that can take months to correct and thousands of dollars to process.

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