{"id":34989,"date":"2022-08-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=34989"},"modified":"2022-08-08T11:26:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T03:26:03","slug":"hdb-silver-housing-bonus-scheme-cpf-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/hdb-silver-housing-bonus-scheme-cpf-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Is HDB’s Silver Housing Bonus scheme worth considering?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As our population ages, more and more Singaporeans are approaching their golden years. By helping them leverage the value of their existing property through schemes like Silver Housing Bonus (SHB) and Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS)<\/a>, the government aims to help our seniors supplement their retirement income.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But is the Silver Housing Bonus scheme worth considering?<\/strong> Or are there better alternatives out there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What is the Silver Housing Bonus scheme?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Introduced in 2013, the Silver Housing Bonus (SHB) uses a cash bonus incentive<\/strong> to encourage senior households to downsize their existing property to a lower value 3-room or smaller HDB flat while putting a specified sum of their cash proceeds from the sale of their existing flat into their CPF Retirement Account (CPF-RA).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To qualify for the SHB, the senior households must also participate\/be participating in CPF Life<\/a> \u2013 a life annuity scheme using CPF-RA money for monthly payouts. All monies in the CPF-RA will be used for CPF Life, which will give seniors a monthly retirement income for life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The incentive for participating in the SHB is a cash bonus up to S$30,000.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How is the CPF-RA top-up amount and cash bonus calculated?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The top-up amount is capped at S$60,000 of cash proceeds from the sale of your existing flat. (The cash proceeds from selling your existing property is the selling price of the property, minus any outstanding loan, the purchase price of the next flat and any resale levy<\/a> payable.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The maximum amount in cash bonus a senior household is eligible for is S$30,000, if S$60,000 in cash proceeds are used to top-up the CPF-RA.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As long as your cash proceeds from the sale of your existing property is above S$60,000, you’ll have to top-up your CPF-RA with S$60,000. An exception is made when you’ve met the prevailing Full Retirement Sum (FRS), in which case you’ll keep the excess cash proceeds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If the cash proceeds is lower than S$60,000, your top-up amount is also lower, and the cash bonus will be pro-rated to 50% of cash proceeds contributed to CPF-RA.<\/strong> For example, a couple with S$40,000 cash proceeds will get a S$20,000 cash bonus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here are more examples below:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/th>\r\nExample 1 – Full cash bonus<\/th>\r\nExample 2 – Partial cash bonus<\/th>\r\nExample 3 – No cash bonus<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
Selling price of existing property<\/strong><\/td>\r\nS$470,000<\/td>\r\nS$336,000<\/td>\r\nS$247,000<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Outstanding loan<\/strong><\/td>\r\n-S$100,000<\/span><\/td>\r\nS$0<\/td>\r\n-S$76,000<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Flat purchase price<\/strong><\/td>\r\n-S$141,000<\/span><\/td>\r\n-S$301,000<\/span><\/td>\r\n-S$141,000<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Resale levy<\/strong><\/td>\r\n-S$45,000<\/span><\/td>\r\nS$0<\/td>\r\n-S$30,000<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Cash proceeds<\/strong><\/td>\r\nS$184,000<\/td>\r\nS$35,000<\/td>\r\nS$0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
CPF-RA Top-up required<\/strong><\/td>\r\nS$60,000<\/td>\r\nS$35,000<\/td>\r\nS$0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
SHB cash bonus<\/strong><\/td>\r\nS$30,000<\/td>\r\nS$17,500<\/td>\r\nSHB not applicable<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Who is eligible for the Silver Housing Bonus scheme?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There are several eligibility criteria to fulfil in order to qualify for the SHB:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n