Big Life Decisions Ahead? This One Platform Could Change How You Plan

Getting married. Buying a home. Planning for healthcare needs. Preparing for retirement. Big decisions, all linked by 1 question: can I afford this—now and later?

In Singapore, each life stage comes with complex financial choices. And the real challenge isn’t just the cost. It’s understanding the trade-offs.

To help with that, CPF Board has developed PLAN (Plan Life Ahead, Now!) with CPF, a one-stop financial guidance platform that empowers members to take charge of their financial health at different milestones. The platform brings together relevant planners and resources to help members make informed financial decisions across different planning areas such as retirement, housing, and healthcare.

You can access your personalised PLAN with CPF dashboard via Singpass login. The dashboard is designed to guide you on your financial planning journey, track your planning progress and identify next steps.

To start, simply click on the planning area of your interest to access the relevant planners and tools. You’ll find the following planners to help answer your important financial questions.

 

“Can I afford to buy a house?”

That’s the big question when you’re about to buy your first or next home. You might have done the usual—compared BTO and resale prices, maybe even punched numbers into a mortgage calculator.

But here’s what many miss: How much CPF savings do you have left after paying for your downpayment and monthly instalment? Will you still have enough for retirement? 

The Home Purchase Planner in your PLAN with CPF dashboard comes in useful here. It doesn’t just estimate the amount of loan you can afford—it gives you the full picture. Based on your income and CPF balance, it helps you figure out a comfortable housing budget and shows how your future retirement might be impacted.

So you’re not just buying a home. You’re buying peace of mind—knowing you’ve thought ahead, not just for now, but for later too.

 

“Will I still be able to afford my Integrated Shield plan when I’m older?”

Health insurance is one of the most important things to get right for our later years — but often one of the most overlooked or difficult to evaluate. 

When we’re younger and working, premiums for Integrated Shield Plans tend to be more affordable – we’re generally healthier and less likely to get hospitalised. But many don’t realise how sharply premiums rise with age.

Some end up struggling to foot the cost of growing premiums in a season where they no longer have regular income. This can eat into their savings significantly, compromising the retirement lifestyle they had envisioned for themselves.

To support your planning, the Health Insurance Planner in your PLAN with CPF dashboard provides a clear, side-by-side comparison of key benefits of your existing plan with other Integrated Shield plans.  It also projects premiums over time – up to 30 years or age 90 indicating the portion that are MediSave-payable and the amount to be paid out-of-pocket in cash— helping you understand future costs and make informed decisions. 

 

“How much do I need for retirement?”

Retirement planning can feel uncertain—some worry they won’t have enough savings, while others assume their CPF monthly payouts will fully cover their needs. The truth is, knowing how close you are to your retirement payout goal today is the first step to a secure retirement tomorrow.

That’s where you can use the Retirement Payout Planner to set your retirement payout goal, project your savings and payouts at retirement, and explore ways to make the most of your CPF to achieve your goal. 

Using this planner gives you a clearer picture of your retirement readiness and helps you understand the steps you may need to take to meet your goals.

 

Learning resources for every life stage

Apart from useful planners, your PLAN with CPF dashboard gives you access to a range of educational resources tailored to where you are in life. Just starting your career and keen to grow your CPF savings? You’ll find straightforward articles on making the most of compound interest. Thinking about buying your first or next home? If you’ve just used the Home Purchase Planner to work out your budget, check out CPF Board’s tips on managing your home finances with confidence.

Whether you’re just starting out or planning ahead, these tailored resources deepen your understanding of CPF and broader financial topics, guiding you through your financial planning journey.

 

Keeping check of your financial fitness beyond CPF 

Your financial well-being goes beyond just your CPF savings, so here’s where the ‘Financial fitness beyond CPF’ questionnaire comes in. The questionnaire was developed in collaboration with MoneySense, based on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Basic Financial Planning Guide. The various questions cover key aspects of financial planning, allowing you to assess your financial health across areas like emergency funds, insurance protection, investment/retirement and legacy planning. Based on your responses, you can get relevant guidance tips that are tailored to your circumstances. 

While you don’t need to address everything at once, understanding where you stand can help you take practical steps towards better financial planning—whatever life stage you’re at.

 

What makes PLAN with CPF worth trying

Financial planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming. That’s where PLAN with CPF comes in—it’s here to guide you at every stage. You’ll find clear, practical tips and simple rules of thumb you can use, no matter which milestone you’re working towards. As your one-stop planning hub, it offers unbiased advice with your best interests in mind, covering everything from retirement and housing to healthcare and legacy planning. And because life changes, you can always pop back in to update your plans whenever you need.

The best time to start planning was yesterday. The next best? Before your next kopi.

 

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About the author

Audrey Ng is a bargain hunter who tries to sniff out the best deals possible whether it’s food, shopping or travel. She will out auntie the auntiest of aunties.