How to Make CPF Nomination: Free, 10-Minute Process That Saves Your Family Months

Here is a fact that surprises most Singaporeans: your will has absolutely no power over your CPF savings. It does not matter what your will says — your Ordinary Account, Special Account, MediSave, and Retirement Account balances sit outside your legal estate entirely. If you die without a valid CPF nomination, every dollar goes to the Public Trustee's Office, which charges tiered administrative fees starting at 6.5% and takes up to six months to distribute the funds.

Making a CPF nomination is free. It takes about 10 minutes. And it is the single most important thing you can do right now to protect your family from unnecessary delays and fees.

The Marriage Trap Most People Miss

This is the detail that catches families off guard: marriage automatically revokes all existing CPF nominations. If you made a nomination before getting married, it no longer exists. Your CPF Board records show zero nominees.

Many people assume their earlier nomination still stands, or that their marriage certificate somehow routes CPF funds to their spouse automatically. Neither is true. If you got married and never made a new nomination afterwards, your CPF savings will go to the Public Trustee upon your death — not directly to your spouse.

Divorce, by contrast, does not revoke a CPF nomination. If you nominated your ex-spouse before the divorce and never updated it, they remain your nominee.

What Happens Without a Nomination

Without a valid nomination, the CPF Board transfers your savings to the Public Trustee's Office. The Public Trustee then distributes the money according to rigid statutory rules:

• Non-Muslims: The Intestate Succession Act dictates distribution. If you are married with children, your spouse gets 50% and the children share the remaining 50%. Unmarried partners receive nothing — they have zero legal standing under intestacy.
• Muslims: Distribution follows Faraid (Islamic inheritance law), with fixed fractional shares determined by the Syariah Court.

The Public Trustee charges progressive fees drawn directly from your savings before distributing them:

The minimum fee is S$15. For a CPF balance of S$50,000, the fees alone consume over S$1,400. Your family also waits up to six months while the Public Trustee verifies identities and lineage of all lawful beneficiaries.

A valid nomination bypasses all of this. The CPF Board distributes directly to your nominees — no fees, no court involvement, no months of waiting.

How to Make Your Nomination

The process is straightforward:

1. Log in to the my cpf online portal using your Singpass.
2. Navigate to My Requests > Make/Change Nomination.
3. Choose your nominees. You can nominate anyone — spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, or charitable organisations. There is no restriction on who you can name.
4. Set percentage splits. Allocate what percentage each nominee receives. The total must add up to 100%.
5. Confirm and submit. The nomination takes effect immediately.

You will need the NRIC numbers of your nominees. If nominating someone under 18, you must also name a trustee (someone over 18) to receive the funds on their behalf until they reach adulthood.

What CPF Nomination Does Not Cover

A common mistake is assuming CPF nomination handles everything connected to CPF. It does not:

• CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS): Shares, unit trusts, and gold purchased through CPFIS are not covered by your nomination. These investments form part of your legal estate and pass through probate according to your will or intestacy law.
• Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS): This term-life insurance policy managed by Great Eastern Life requires a separate, direct claim by your next-of-kin to the insurer. It does not follow your CPF nomination.
• Home Protection Scheme (HPS): This mortgage-reducing insurance automatically pays off your outstanding HDB housing loan upon death, securing the flat for your surviving family. No separate claim is needed — it settles directly with HDB.

Special Consideration for Muslim Members

Under a 1971 Fatwa, CPF monies were originally considered part of the total estate and subject strictly to Faraid distribution. However, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) issued an updated Fatwa recognising CPF nominations as a contemporary form of hibah — an inter-vivos gift made during one's lifetime.

Because the nomination operates as a gift, it supersedes Faraid rules entirely. A Muslim CPF member can nominate anyone — including non-Faraid heirs, adopted children, or charitable organisations — to receive 100% of their CPF funds. This is a powerful planning tool for Muslim families who want to direct specific funds to dependants who would otherwise receive small Faraid shares.

Without a nomination, however, un-nominated CPF funds default to the Public Trustee and are distributed according to the rigid Faraid formula.

When to Update Your Nomination

Review your CPF nomination after any major life event:

• Marriage — your previous nomination is automatically revoked
• Divorce — your ex-spouse remains nominated unless you change it
• Birth of a child — you may want to add them or adjust percentages
• Death of a nominee — if a nominee predeceases you, their portion reverts to the Public Trustee

The Singapore End-of-Life Planning Guide includes a complete CPF planning checklist alongside will, LPA, and HDB inheritance frameworks — everything connected in one place so nothing falls through the cracks.

Do It Today

Log in to the my cpf portal. Check your current nomination status. If it shows no active nomination — especially if you have married since your last nomination — make a new one right now. It costs nothing, takes 10 minutes, and it is the single most financially impactful estate planning action available to any Singaporean.

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