CPF LIFE Plan Comparator (2026): Standard vs Basic vs Escalating

CPF LIFE offers three plan options that vary in monthly payout level and bequest amount: (1) Standard Plan — the default; pays the highest level monthly payouts; smaller bequest. (2) Basic Plan — pays roughly 10–15% less per month than Standard but leaves the largest bequest to your beneficiaries. (3) Escalating Plan — starts around 20% lower than Standard but increases payouts by 2% every year to help offset inflation. The Standard Plan is the default and most members stay on it.

For most members the Standard Plan is the rational choice: it maximises monthly income for life with no special legacy goal. Choose the Basic Plan if leaving a meaningful bequest matters more than maximising your own income. Choose the Escalating Plan if you are in good health and expect to live well past 85 — the 2% annual increase compounds to roughly +50% by age 85 and +80% by age 95 versus the starting payout, partially hedging inflation.

You can switch plans within 12 months of joining CPF LIFE (the joining typically happens around your payout eligibility age of 65). After that 12-month window, your plan choice is locked. CPF Board sends written confirmation of your plan and the switching window — review it carefully because the plan choice affects your income for life.

Each year of deferral between 65 and 70 increases your monthly payout by approximately 7%, compounding. Deferring all 5 years (start at 70 instead of 65) lifts monthly payouts by roughly 40–42%. The break-even age — where total deferred payouts catch up with starting at 65 — is typically around age 84. If you expect to live past 84 in good health and can self-fund the 65-to-deferral gap, deferring is mathematically advantageous.

When you join CPF LIFE, a portion of your RA balance is set aside as the annuity premium (which funds your monthly payouts) and the remainder stays in your RA earning 4% interest. The Basic Plan retains the most in RA (largest bequest); Standard retains less; Escalating retains the least because more is needed to fund the annual 2% growth. As you draw down monthly payouts, the bequest shrinks. The exact split is calculated by CPF Board based on actuarial tables and is not publicly disclosed at unit level — figures in this calculator are approximate relative estimates.

No. CPF LIFE monthly payouts are tax-exempt under Singapore tax law and do not need to be declared on your IRAS return, regardless of your country of tax residence. However, if you retire overseas, your country of residence may treat CPF LIFE differently — some jurisdictions tax foreign pension income as ordinary income. Always check the tax treatment in your destination country before retiring overseas.

Slightly. CPF LIFE uses unisex actuarial tables for the headline payout figures, so male and female members with the same RA balance receive the same starting monthly payout. However, because women live longer on average (~84 vs ~80 in Singapore), they receive more total payouts over their lifetime under all three plans — which makes the Escalating Plan particularly attractive for women in good health. Marital status does not affect the payout level but affects who can be nominated as bequest beneficiary.