PR surrender and CPF withdrawal

[Baobaotou]

Hi e1coli,

Thank you so much! Ya it definitely helps! First I will adjust my expectation to be 5 month which means sep to receive the letter of approval ha.

While for CPF withdrawal, I also returned my SG passport... but I guess the ICA letter will acknowledge the receival of both my NRIC and passport so hope that would be fine.

OCBC also said I will need to go back to SG to update my new PP as I would not have IC anymore I am asking them if there is any way for me to do that from overseas via maybe public notary... see what they say... worst case I will just provide a foreign bank authentication.

I also use the "SINGPASS" app, it has all the govt agencies, so it is good to know that without NRIC we can still access it... I thought the app and SINGPASS is the same thing...

I submitted renunciation in Oct 2020 and approval was received via embassy in March 2021 (though letter was dated Feb), total processing time was 5 months. Embassy says 5 months is the norm!

For CPF withdrawal, supporting docs only requires a copy of old passport, current passport and ica letter. They say processing time via bank transfer to SG banks is 5 to 7 weeks, it's been 5 weeks and I haven't received.

You may need to make a trip back to change your identity at the bank since you do not have IC anymore (it needs to be changed to your new passport number). I do not use singpass to view CPF statements, I downloaded an app called Singpass which have all the govt agencies and uses password not singpass.

Hope this helps!

[e1coli]

Hi, CPF never requested for nric at all. If you really want to be safe, you can log in CPF go to mycpf select withdrawal and send them an email asking if the docs you have on hand are sufficient, they take about 3 working days to reply.

Btw you can ask your embassy the average timeline for renunciation, I know some embassy send chasers. But with covid now, everything is uncertain. Good luck!!

[malcontent]

Adding to this Mal - I looked at the account I put my big payout in today and was reminded of my lesson learned a few decades ago when my sister and I both received an insurance payout for my father's untimely death. She spent hers in about 6 months and I locked mine into a fixed deposit that paid (at the time ) well over 10%. That money today is the foundation of my wealth (small as it is).

I guess I've learned to put large sums into places I can't get at quickly or without some thought and I need to do that with the current sum.

Same here, I have learned to put any unexpected (or expected) windfall, big or small, straight into the investment pool... letting it linger anywhere else just puts it at risk of depletion - - and where it goes, nobody knows

[Myasis Dragon]

Adding to this Mal - I looked at the account I put my big payout in today and was reminded of my lesson learned a few decades ago when my sister and I both received an insurance payout for my father's untimely death. She spent hers in about 6 months and I locked mine into a fixed deposit that paid (at the time ) well over 10%. That money today is the foundation of my wealth (small as it is).

I guess I've learned to put large sums into places I can't get at quickly or without some thought and I need to do that with the current sum.

I generally agree with you that CPF is a pretty much unbeatable deal, but, the wife and I decided to withdraw CPF because:

We had/have a very good size fixed investment that guarantees a 4 percent rate of return. The only bad thing about it is that they won't let us put any more money into it.

We had/have a substantial stock market investment whose returns were greater than CPF over the last couple of years we were in Singapore.

We had been renting our house for 8 years while overseas, and while we were lucky to have great renters, our place need a serious upgrade.

We opted not to go with the equity loan route, and instead, cashed CPF to pay for the upgrades.

It's always tough to tell... and one thing that at least partially influenced us was the uncertainty of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar... that four percent tends to get whittled away if the currency drops.

But, I agree... discipline to not spend the nestegg... that's what it takes.

[malcontent]

That lack of discipline is precisely why things like Provident Funds, Superannuation, Social Security etc. are so important, no matter what happens, you will have that to fall back on.

Myasis, in your case I’m sure you’ve got Social Security as well, which is not only in USD but also adjusts for inflation and includes joint survivorship if you have a spouse.

With CPF you would have probably gotten less and it is NOT adjusted for inflation and doesn’t include spousal coverage... after considering the currency risk and the unfavorable US tax treatment, cashing it out was probably the right move - especially if there is no chance that you’ll ever come back and live in Singapore.

[jason1125]

Just like to check If my wife can withdraw PR and CPF only. I am the main sponsor and would like to know if we can withdraw PR and CPF for my wife only and keep my PR and CPF?

[PNGMK]

Just like to check If my wife can withdraw PR only. I am the main sponsor and would like to know if we can withdraw PR for my wife only and keep my PR?

Yes, if she surrenders her PR, she can withdraw her CPF. HOWEVER you need to keep in mind that withdrawing CPF have negative consequences:

1. She cannot get PR again without repaying CPF including interest.
2. Any money she has used in her CPF for housing must be repaid.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Also add to that, there is a likelihood of her not being able to get an LTVP. The gov't doesn't like people to try to play-play with their planning.

[Baobaotou]

/Deleted/

[sgexpatnomore]

Hi e1coli and Baobaotou,
My Singapore PR REP expired and I am outside Singapore due to the pandemic, so I have lost my PR. Seems like both of you still have access to Singpass app after renouncing citizenship? How long has it been since the renounciation and do you know when will our Singpass app access be terminated?

Thank you so much for answering!

[Baobaotou]

I am not sure how long it could be. My renunciation was just approved early Jun, so far I still can log on CPF via the app.

Hi e1coli and Baobaotou,
My Singapore PR REP expired and I am outside Singapore due to the pandemic, so I have lost my PR. Seems like both of you still have access to Singpass app after renouncing citizenship? How long has it been since the renounciation and do you know when will our Singpass app access be terminated?

Thank you so much for answering!

[PNGMK]

Your CPF access will only disappear once the actual account is closed.

[sgexpatnomore]

Thank you for the information, Baobaotou and PNGMK.

PNGMK, you mentioned CPF access will disappear when account is closed. What about Singpass access? Will it be revoked and is it dependent on the status of the CPF account? Thank you.

[PNGMK]

Singpass access would logically disappear if you no longer have an NRIC number.

[sgexpatnomore]

Hi PNGMK, thank you, that makes sense.

I wonder how long after losing citizenship/PR would NRIC be officially wiped out of the govt's systems? Is it within weeks or months?

Does anyone have experience with this? Please share. Thank you so much.