Beneficiary Representative Approach to Simplify the Payment of Un-nominated CPF Monies

01 NOV 2021

01 Nov 2021 Posted in Press releases

  1. The Ministry of Law is proposing to adopt a “Beneficiary Representative” (BR) approach to simplify the payment of deceased CPF members’ un-nominated CPF monies. The change is proposed as part of the Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled for Second Reading in Parliament today. If passed, we expect to implement this new approach by the second quarter of 2022.

Simpler Process to Relieve Administrative Burden on Beneficiaries

  1. The Public Trustee’s Office (PTO) under the Ministry of Law administers applications by next-of-kin for un-nominated CPF monies. Under the current process, all eligible beneficiaries must submit their information and supporting documents to the PTO. We have received feedback that this process can involve significant time and effort, and can be streamlined to be more efficient, particularly for smaller amounts.
  1. Under the new approach, a BR may be appointed to represent all eligible beneficiaries and make one consolidated claim for the deceased CPF member’s un-nominated CPF monies. This simplified procedure is expected to relieve the administrative burden on the other beneficiaries and could halve the time needed to disburse the monies from the current three to six months, to one to three months instead.

  1. When implemented, the next-of-kin of a deceased CPF member will be able to adopt the new BR approach (where the un-nominated CPF monies in the deceased CPF member’s account do not exceed $10,000) in the following scenarios:

    a. Where the CPF member had passed away before the implementation of the new BR approach and there are unclaimed CPF monies as at the date of implementation, and there had been no previous distribution of the deceased member’s CPF monies via the current process.

    b. Where the CPF member passes away on or after the date of implementation.

  1. For cases where the un-nominated CPF monies in the deceased CPF member’s account exceed $10,000, the current process whereby all eligible beneficiaries submit their information and supporting documents to the PTO for direct disbursements to them will continue to apply.

Eligibility and Responsibilities of a Beneficiary Representative

  1. A BR must be an eligible beneficiary according to the applicable rules of distribution under the Intestate Succession Act (for non-Muslims) or the Administration of Muslim Law Act (for Muslims). Depending on the rules of distribution, an eligible beneficiary must be one of the following next-of-kin of the deceased CPF member:

    a. Spouse;

    b. Child;

    c. Parent;

    d. Sibling;

    e. Grandparent; or

    f. Uncle or aunt.

  1. Under this new approach, the BR should first seek the agreement of all other beneficiaries for his or her appointment. The BR will then need to submit an application to the PTO, including supporting document(s) certifying his or her familial relationship to the deceased CPF member, and the personal information of the other beneficiaries. The latter will need to separately confirm with the PTO that each of the legally entitled beneficiaries had agreed for the BR to represent them in the claim. If the claim is approved by the PTO, the PTO will then disburse the un-nominated CPF monies to the BR, who will then distribute the monies to the other beneficiaries according to the relevant law, subject to any instructions which the beneficiaries may give with regard to their respective entitlements.
  1. There can only be one BR for each application. In the event of a dispute over the nomination of a BR, the PTO will not proceed with the application until a consensus has been reached among the beneficiaries. Should the beneficiaries fail to reach an agreement, they will need to re-submit their application under the standard administration process, whereby the PTO distributes the deceased CPF member’s un-nominated CPF monies directly to all the eligible beneficiaries.
  1. More information on the BR application process, including the date of implementation by the second quarter of 2022, will be released in due course.

MINISTRY OF LAW
01 NOVEMBER 2021

Last updated on 1 Nov 2021