I have been busy with work and travel. So been very tardy with maintaining this blog. It may not make sense to pay the subscription fee if this is just a very infrequently-updated diary with no potential for monetary gains. Anyway, still working on my portfolio. Trimming some positions when the price is right and…
Category: CPF
20k CPF Ang Bao
Early January is always one of my favorite time. New year new hope plus I get to see how much is my ang bao from the CPF Board. It’s almost 20k for 2021 which is 9% more than 2020. This works out to be about an interest rate of 3.2%. For a risk-free bond, nothing…
CPF Update
Apologies for my tardiness. With a kid, it is getting harder to post regularly. I know it is a lousy excuse but I need to get it out of the way. Anyway, my CPF has crossed the $600k mark. Given it is a key pillar of my FIRE journey, I am happy to say that…
My CPF angbao
The first few days of January are always exciting. Another year is upon us and there are hopes and well wishes all around. The weather also cooperated this year. It was cool and sometimes chilly for first two weeks of 2021. Not that cold until you have to bring out your winterwear like some people…
Demystifying the CPF Annual Limit
As mentioned in my previous posts, the CPF Annual Limit is $37,740. What I didn’t realise is that this amount is the absolute limit, that is, it includes any voluntary contribution to the MA. Since I am gainfully employed, my mandatory contributions (from both employer and employee) will already hit the AL. I used to…
An Ang Bao to yourself
As we approach the year of the Rat and bid farewell to the Pig, this is the time when people get excited about the ang baos or red packets. I remember that as a kid, I used to look forward to the Chinese New Year. This is the one time in a year when relatives…
A good start to 2020
Happy new year! A decade has passed by us. Time and tide indeed wait for no man. My favorite activity during this period is to check on my CPF interest for the previous year. Although interest is calculated on a daily basis, the final interest earned on the year before is only revealed in the…
CPF million (half a) aire anyone?
September 2019 has been a month of milestones. Earlier this month, I shared that I have reached the SA limit of $176,000 for 2019. Today, I am happy to share that I have accumulated half a million in my CPF accounts. For those readers who do not know my background, I am an ordinary employee…
What’s so special about the CPF Special Account?
I have recently achieved another milestone in my FIRE journey. I have accumulated the Special Account (SA) limit of $176,000 (aka Full Retirement Sum) for 2019. How did I achieve this feat? Like most people who are employees, I (and my employer) contribute to my SA every month through the mandatory CPF contributions. This is…
My relationship with CPF
My relationship with the CPF system did not get off on the best footing. My starting pay as an overworked auditor was $2,000. This paltry amount became an even paltrier $1,600 after the mandatory 20% CPF contributions. There wasn’t much left after contributing to the family and paying the monthly installment on my education loan….