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According to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board's Annual Report, nearly 400,000 CPF members have at least S$500,000 in their CPF account as of December 31, 2020.

Of these nearly 400,000 CPF members, 100 are aged 35 and below.

Of the 100, 90 belong to the age group >30 to 35 years.

Another 10 belong to the age group >25 to 30 years.

The CPF balance accrued includes amounts withdrawn under the Investment, Education, and Housing schemes.

Most with at least S$500k aged 50 to 55

Based on the report, a total of 394,710 CPF members have at least S$500,000 in CPF distribution, with 325,530 of them considered to be active CPF members.

The age group with the most number of CPF members owning at least S$500,000 (92,880) was in the >50 to 55 years range.

This tapers off to about 73,890 members for the age group >55 to 60 years; according to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, this reduction could in part stem from more CPF members being able to withdraw a portion of their CPF savings from age 55.

According to reports from years prior, the CPF board only started releasing statistics on CPF distribution for CPF members with more than S$500,000 in 2019.

Before that, only data on the number of CPF members with over S$150,000 was published.

"Unsurprising"

Lianhe Zaobao reported that some financial planning pundits were unsurprised that some young CPF members were already half millionaires thanks to their CPF savings.

The paper spoke to Loo Cheng Chuan, the founder of the 1M65 movement (referring to the concept of accruing S$1 million at 65), who explained that this group of CPF members likely had parents who started topping up their CPF accounts from an early age, thus leveraging on the power of compound interest over the years.

Loo and his wife, for example, had accrued about S$130,000 in their Special and MediSave accounts at 30. Combined with monthly CPF employment contributions, they both attained a combined balance of S$1 million in CPF savings by the age of 45.

Loo estimated that he'll be able to accrue S$1 million in savings for his individual CPF account by 50, not including the amount used to buy a house.

Zheng, 33, who works in the biopharmaceutical industry, told Zaobao that accruing S$500,000 by 35 should be possible if individuals with above median salaries actively top up their CPF Ordinary, Special, and Medisave accounts.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, the average median salary in Singapore (including employer CPF contributions) is currently at S$4,534.

The mandatory and voluntary CPF contributions that one can make on an annual basis is capped at S$37,740.

Zheng explained that aside from topping up his CPF accounts regularly, he previously transferred money from his CPF Ordinary account to his Special account, which offers a higher interest rate.

As of end 2020, Zheng had over S$260,000 in his CPF accounts, without yet owning a property.

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