SINGAPORE – The interest rates for all Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts will remain unchanged in the second quarter of this year, said the CPF Board and Housing Board (HDB) in a joint statement on Wednesday (Feb 20).

This means that the concessionary interest rate for HDB mortgage loans, which is pegged at 0.1 per cent above the CPF Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate, will also remain unchanged at 2.6 per cent yearly for that time period.

The Special and Medisave Account (SMA) interest rate will be maintained at 4 per cent a year from April 1 to June 30, while the Retirement Account (RA) interest rate will be kept at 4 per cent a year from Jan 1, 2019 to Dec 31, 2019.

The OA interest rate will be kept at 2.5 per cent a year.

This means that CPF members will continue to earn interest rates of up to 3.5 per cent yearly on their OA funds and up to 5 per cent yearly on their SMA.

For their RA funds, members will earn interest rates of up to 5 per cent a year in 2019.

“These interest rates include an extra 1 per cent interest paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances – with up to $20,000 from the OA – which is part of the Government’s efforts to enhance the retirement savings of CPF members,” the CPF Board and Housing Board said.

For CPF members who are 55 and above, there will be an additional 1 per cent extra interest on the first $30,000 of their combined balances, on top of the initial 1 per cent paid on the first $60,000.

This means they will earn up to 6 per cent interest per year on their retirement balances.

Extra interest received on the OA will go into the Special Account or RA.

If a member is over 55 and under the CPF Life scheme, the extra interest will still be earned on his or her combined balances, including savings used for CPF Life.

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