CPF Nomination in Singapore: How to Nominate, What It Covers and What Happens Without One [2026]

As of October 2026, CPF savings left without a nomination go to the Public Trustee, which may take up to six months to identify eligible family members and deducts an administrative fee before paying them out. Your family also loses any say in who gets what, because the split is fixed by law.

A CPF nomination is your instruction to CPF Board on who should receive your CPF savings in cash when you die, and in what proportions. Your CPF savings sit outside your estate, so CPF savings cannot be distributed through a will, and the nomination is the only document that directs them. You can make one once you turn 16, and it is free.

Most members can finish a nomination online in one sitting with Singpass, as long as two witnesses are ready to confirm it within a week. The details that trip people up come later: marriage cancels a nomination, divorce leaves one in place, and several CPF-linked assets fall outside it entirely.

You have two ways to nominate: online through my cpf with Singpass, or in person at a CPF Service Centre, where CPF staff can act as your witnesses. If you never nominate, the Public Trustee distributes your CPF savings under the Intestate Succession Act or Muslim inheritance law.

This guide explains what a CPF nomination covers and excludes, who you can nominate, the online and in-person steps, the witness rules, how marriage and divorce affect a nomination, what the Public Trustee charges when there is none, and a checklist for reviewing yours each year.

CPF nomination at a glance

A nomination covers most CPF money, but property, DPS payouts and CPFIS investments follow their own rules.

Source: CPF Board making a CPF nomination, CPF Board make a CPF nomination e-service, CPF Board witnessing deadline, CPF Board processing time (as of 19 October 2026)

Why CPF savings need their own nomination

Most people assume a will deals with everything they own. CPF savings are the main exception, because they never become part of your estate.

The separation cuts both ways. Because CPF savings sit outside your estate, they are protected from creditors’ claims on your outstanding debts, so the money reaches your nominees even if you leave debts behind. The downside is that a carefully drafted will has no power over the money: a will that leaves "everything" to your spouse does not move a single dollar of CPF.

CPF Board contacts your nominees after your death and pays the savings to them in cash. Nominees and eligible family members can also access your CPF account information once you have died, while it stays confidential during your lifetime.

What a CPF nomination covers

A valid nomination directs three types of CPF money to your nominees in the shares you set. On your death, the nomination covers CPF savings in your Ordinary, Special, MediSave and Retirement Accounts, your CPF LIFE premium balance, and Discounted Singtel shares.

The CPF LIFE premium balance matters for members who die after joining CPF LIFE. Any premium that has not yet been paid back to you as monthly payouts goes to your nominees. Discounted Singtel shares are a smaller item, but without a CPF nomination they become part of your estate.

What a CPF nomination does not cover

Three CPF-linked assets fall outside the nomination, and each needs separate planning.

Property bought with CPF savings follows the way you hold the title. Under joint tenancy, ownership passes to the surviving owner, while under tenancy-in-common the deceased’s share forms part of the estate. Couples holding a flat as tenants-in-common need a will to direct that share.

Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) payouts go through the DPS insurer. You can direct them with a DPS nomination or a will; without either, the benefit goes to the "proper claimants", which can be your executor or a family member. Great Eastern Life, the DPS insurer, does not offer online nomination for DPS, so you complete a revocable nomination form and send the original signed copy by post or at a customer service centre.

CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) investments form part of your estate. The exception is an insurance policy bought under CPFIS with a nomination made directly to the insurer, where the death benefit goes to the beneficiaries you named with that insurer.

What a CPF nomination covers and what it excludes in 2026

Source: CPF Board what CPF nominations cover, Great Eastern Life DPS nomination (as of 19 October 2026)

If you die with an HDB loan insured under the Home Protection Scheme, any HPS payout above the outstanding loan goes into your Ordinary Account and then passes to your CPF nominees, or to the Public Trustee if you have none.

Who you can nominate

You choose the nominees and the percentage each one receives, and the shares must add up to 100%. Nominees can be family members or anyone else, and they do not need a CPF account.

The online form takes up to 15 nominees; for more than 15 you need to visit a CPF Service Centre. For each nominee you need their full name and identification number, with an email address optional. Foreign nominees also need a mailing address.

Age matters for nominees. If a nominee is under 18 when you die, CPF Board sends that nominee’s share to the Public Trustee, unless the nominee is a widow. Parents of young children can still name them; the money is simply held and paid through the Public Trustee.

How to make a CPF nomination online in 2026

Online nomination lets you nominate without your witnesses being physically present to sign a form. Before you start, have your nominees' details and your witnesses' full names, identification numbers, email addresses and mobile numbers ready.

1. Log in and submit the form. Go to the Make a CPF nomination e-service, log in with Singpass, accept the terms and enter each nominee with their percentage share. You may be asked for extra verification on a camera-enabled device.
2. Tell your witnesses. Let both witnesses know the nomination is coming so they can act on the notification.
3. Witnesses receive a request. Each witness gets an email or SMS asking them to confirm your nomination.
4. Witnesses confirm with Singpass. Each witness logs in and confirms your intention. Your nominees' names are hidden from them.
5. Check the status. CPF Board usually processes the nomination within four working days after both witnesses complete the witnessing, and you can track it under "Activities" in my cpf Online Services.

Steps two to four are where nominations lapse. Witnesses have seven calendar days from receiving the SMS or email to complete the witnessing; after that, the application expires and you have to submit a new one.

Steps to make a CPF nomination online with two Singpass witnesses

If you need help, ServiceSG Centres can guide you through the online form.

Nominating in person

Members who prefer paper, or who have more than 15 nominees, can nominate at a CPF Service Centre. You need to book an appointment at least one working day ahead and bring your NRIC or passport and photocopies of your nominees’ identity documents. You complete the form in front of two witnesses, and CPF Customer Service Executives can be those witnesses, which helps if you have no one suitable to ask.

Witness rules and common mistakes

Online witnesses must be at least 21 years old, have Singpass and not lack mental capacity, and neither you nor any of your nominees can witness. Organisations cannot witness.

A common slip is asking a spouse or child to witness a nomination that names them, which the rules forbid. Ask a friend, colleague, neighbour or a sibling who is not a nominee.

Witnesses also never see the identities of your nominees, which keeps your choices private.

A smaller trap is timing. If one witness is travelling or slow to check messages, the seven-day window can close. Line up two people who can respond within a day or two before you submit.

How to check or change your CPF nomination

You can view your current nomination by logging in to my cpf with Singpass. A new nomination replaces the old one in full, so there is no separate "edit" step: you submit a fresh nomination with the nominees and shares you now want.

If you spot a mistake before both witnesses have confirmed, you can withdraw the online nomination and submit a new one. Once both have witnessed it, you wait for it to be processed and then file a new nomination, which supersedes the earlier one. You can only submit one nomination on the same day.

Marriage, divorce and other life changes

Marriage and divorce work in opposite directions. Upon marriage, any existing CPF nomination is revoked, while divorce does not revoke a nomination.

A newly married member who nominated their parents years earlier has no nomination at all on the wedding day. If they die before nominating again, their CPF savings go to the Public Trustee and the law decides the split.

A nomination naming a former spouse stays valid after the divorce, so that person still receives the savings unless you make a new nomination. Anyone who has divorced should check their nomination straight away.

Source: CPF Board making a CPF nomination, Public Trustee's Office CPF monies (as of 19 October 2026)

What happens to CPF savings without a nomination

Without a valid nomination, CPF Board sends your savings to the Public Trustee's Office (PTO). Your next of kin then apply to the PTO online with Singpass, are assigned a case officer and submit supporting documents.

The process has three stages of waiting. CPF Board typically takes four to six weeks to remit the money after it is notified of the death, and the PTO generally distributes within four weeks of receiving the full set of documents. Before that, identifying all eligible family members can take up to six months.

Who receives the money

For a non-Muslim domiciled in Singapore, the Intestate Succession Act sets the shares. A spouse with children receives 50%, with the other 50% shared equally among the children; a spouse with no children or parents receives everything; a spouse with parents but no children receives half, with the parents sharing the rest. Further down the list come siblings, grandparents, and uncles and aunts.

For a Muslim member, distribution follows the Administration of Muslim Law Act. Family members apply to the Syariah Court for a Certificate of Inheritance, which lists each beneficiary and their share.

What the Public Trustee charges

The PTO deducts a tiered administrative fee, which includes GST, cannot be waived and has a minimum of S$15.

Source: Public Trustee's Office CPF monies (as of 19 October 2026)

Applied to typical balances, the fee comes to S$459 on S$50,000, S$834 on S$100,000 and S$2,184 on S$300,000. Take a married member who dies with S$300,000 in CPF, a spouse and two children, and no nomination. After the S$2,184 fee, S$297,816 is left: the spouse receives S$148,908 and each child S$74,454. The same member could have chosen any split, at no cost, with a nomination.

Public Trustee fees on unnominated CPF savings of S$50,000, S$100,000 and S$300,000

Example only, based on Public Trustee's Office CPF monies (as of 19 October 2026). Assumes no funeral expense claim and the full balance remitted to the PTO.

Beneficiaries can also claim funeral expenses from the money, with claims of up to S$6,000 generally allowable against proof of the costs.

How CPF nomination fits with your will and insurance

Each of your assets has its own route to your family, and a complete plan covers all three routes. CPF savings follow the CPF nomination; insurance follows the nomination made with each insurer; everything else, from bank accounts to investment portfolios, follows your will or, without one, intestacy law.

Source: CPF Board making a CPF nomination, CPF Board what CPF nominations cover, Great Eastern Life DPS nomination (as of 19 October 2026)

Three common family set-ups show how the routes interact. A young single worker with modest CPF and no will can nominate parents or siblings online in one sitting, which already covers most of what they own. A married couple with a flat held as joint tenants has the flat covered by survivorship and the CPF covered by nomination, but still needs wills for bank savings and investments. A member with children from an earlier marriage usually needs all three documents to match, so that the CPF shares, the will and the insurance nominations point in the same direction.

CPF nomination checklist and annual review

A nomination takes minutes to make and is easy to forget. Run through this list once a year, and again after any major life event.

• Confirm you have a nomination. Log in to my cpf and check the nominees and percentages on record.
• Re-nominate after marriage. A wedding revokes the old nomination, so make a new one soon after.
• Review after divorce. A former spouse stays a nominee until you replace the nomination.
• Add new children. A birth or adoption does not change the nomination by itself.
• Replace a nominee who has died. A fresh nomination lets you redirect that share.
• Line up witnesses first. Two people aged 21 or above with Singpass, neither of them a nominee, who can confirm within seven days.
• Make a DPS nomination separately. Use Great Eastern Life's form, since CPF nomination does not reach DPS payouts.
• Check how your home is held. Tenancy-in-common shares go through your will.
• Write or update your will. It covers CPFIS investments and everything outside CPF.
• Tell your family where documents are. Nominees are contacted by CPF Board, but your executor needs to know about the will and insurance policies.

Build investments alongside your CPF with StashAway

A CPF nomination looks after your CPF savings, and the rest of your retirement plan usually sits outside CPF. Investments you build in your own name form part of your estate, so your will decides where they go, and keeping that pot growing gives your family a second source of support next to CPF.

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Investment values can rise and fall, and you could get back less than you put in.

Frequently asked questions

Here are short answers to common questions about CPF nominations.

Can my CPF be distributed by my will?

No. CPF savings are outside your estate, so a will cannot direct them. Only a CPF nomination decides who receives them, and without one the Public Trustee distributes them under intestacy or Muslim inheritance law.

Can I nominate more than one person?

Yes, you can name several nominees and set a percentage for each, as long as the shares total 100%. The online form takes up to 15 nominees. For more, make the nomination at a CPF Service Centre.

How many witnesses do I need?

Two. Each must be at least 21, have Singpass and have mental capacity, and neither can be you or one of your nominees. If you nominate in person, CPF Customer Service Executives can act as your witnesses.

Does divorce cancel a CPF nomination?

Divorce leaves the nomination in force, so a former spouse you named still receives their share. Marriage is different: it revokes any existing nomination automatically. After either event, make a new nomination that reflects your current wishes.

How do I check who I nominated?

Log in to my cpf with Singpass and view your nomination details. A pending online nomination shows its status under "Activities" until CPF Board processes it, usually within four working days of the second witness confirming.

What happens if my witness misses the seven-day deadline?

The application expires once seven calendar days pass from the witness's SMS or email notification. You then submit a new nomination and send fresh requests, so pick witnesses who can respond quickly.

Does my CPF nomination cover my DPS payout?

No. DPS benefits go through Great Eastern Life, so you need a separate DPS nomination with the insurer, or a will. Without either, the payout goes to the proper claimants, such as your executor or a family member.