The Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a scheme that is meant to support Singaporeans at their old age after retirement.

There is also the flexibility to use the CPF money for other matters such as lending it to one's children to pay school fees.

Here's one willing father who was denied from it as his account money is below the "lowest deposit".

Allegedly denied from using CPF to pay school fees

According to a Facebook post on June 26, one 60-year-old Lim Koh Leong wrote that he has about S$70,000 in his CPF account right now and wishes to take out S$15,000 to pay for his daughter's school fees.

The post also suggested that Lim is facing financial difficulties as he has an "unstable job" and he thought that he can withdraw some money from the CPF account after 55 years old.

That prompted him to go to the CPF building to seek help.

This is what he wrote:

"In the past, the government used to say that by the time we hit the age of 55, we can make a withdrawal from my CPF. Currently I’m already 60 years old, with an unstable job, how am i suppose to get the needed cash for my daughter’s education?!

The response of the staff at CPF shocked me. He said: ‘The past is the past, now is now, now the rules changed, if you did not hit the lowest deposit, you can’t take your CPF money.’"

Lim's post did not reveal if he has already taken money out at age 55 and whether the CPF officer did further explanation.

When Lim asked the officer for other options, he was again shocked by the curt rejection.

Here's the exchange between Lim and the officer as shared in Lim's post:

"I requested again, saying: ‘The money in my CPF is my hard earned money, i only need to use a part of it to pay for my daughter’s school fees which is $15,000, my CPF has more than enough inside to pay for my daughter’s school fees. Is there another way to do this?’

To which the staff replied: ‘Can apply, the chance of it is zero’"

Lim shared that the experience made him feel "cheated, humiliated and angry" and he also sought for advice on how he can support his daughter's school fees without resorting to borrowing money from someone else.

Here's the full post:

Here's a screengrab of Lim's account:

Some suggestions from netizens

The post went viral, garnering more than 2,700 shares and 1,200 comments since then.

Some commenters offered help and recommendations which came useful to Lim.

CPF responds

In a Facebook post on June 28, CPF responded that they have spoken to Lim and provided some alternative options that he can explore to support his daughter's education at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA).

NAFA will also be reaching out to Lim.

CPF has reviewed the video footage and clarified that the officer serving Lim was calm and professional.

 

Top photo collage from CPF Facebook