Using your CPF for housing is almost a given in Singapore, but CPF withdrawal limits for property can quietly cap how much you can use from your Ordinary Account (OA) for down payment and monthly mortgage. Understanding these limits early helps you avoid nasty surprises mid-loan and protects your retirement savings at the same time.
This CPF Withdrawal Limits for Property Guide is a focused cluster article under Homejourney’s main CPF & Mortgage pillar guide, designed to help you use CPF for home loan safely and strategically. We will break down how CPF housing limits work for HDB and private properties, what happens when you hit those limits, and practical tactics to balance CPF and cash for your mortgage.
What are CPF withdrawal limits for property in Singapore?
CPF withdrawal limits for property are rules that control how much of your CPF OA savings you can use for housing, so you do not over-commit your retirement funds to a property purchase.[7] In simple terms, they cap:
- How much CPF you can use for down payment
- How much CPF you can use for monthly instalments
- Whether you can continue using CPF when the remaining lease is short
According to CPF Board, the amount of CPF OA you can use depends on the property type (HDB vs private), remaining lease, owners’ ages, and whether you’re taking a HDB loan or bank loan.[7] These rules are meant to strike a balance between helping you buy a home and ensuring you still have enough CPF for retirement.
Key CPF concepts you must know before using CPF for housing
Before you calculate how much CPF you can use, it helps to understand four key concepts that drive the CPF housing limits.
1. CPF OA for property (CPF OA property usage)
Your CPF OA property balance is the main source for housing: down payment, stamp duties, legal fees and monthly instalments. For most working adults in their 20s–40s, OA contributions form the bulk of what they use to service their first home loan.
In practice, many couples in estates like Punggol or Sengkang use almost their entire OA balance for the HDB down payment, then rely on ongoing CPF contributions to service their HDB loan or bank loan every month. This feels painless, but if you ignore CPF housing limits, you may suddenly be told “you can no longer use CPF for this loan” later in life.
2. Property remaining lease and age rules
CPF rules are stricter when the property has a shorter remaining lease. CPF Board states that how much CPF savings you can use depends on the property’s remaining lease and owners’ age.[7] In general:
- If the lease does not last you to at least age 95, CPF usage is restricted and may be pro-rated.
- For very short leases, you may not be allowed to use CPF at all.
This is crucial for older resale HDB flats in mature estates like Queenstown, Bukit Merah or Toa Payoh, where 40–50-year-old flats can trigger CPF usage caps, even if the price looks attractive.
3. Withdrawal limits vs retirement sums
There are two separate but related concepts:
- CPF Housing Limits: Control how much OA you can use on a property now.[7]
- Retirement Sums (BRS, FRS, ERS): Control how much you need to set aside at age 55 for retirement payouts.[2][3]
For Singaporeans turning 55 in 2025, the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) is $106,500, Full Retirement Sum (FRS) is $213,000, and Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS) is $426,000.[2] If you own a property that lasts to at least age 95, you only need to set aside the BRS in your Retirement Account and may withdraw amounts above that.[2][3] But the more CPF you sink into a property now, the more you must refund (with accrued interest) to CPF when you sell later, which directly affects your retirement cash.
4. CPF accrued interest and refunds when selling
Whenever you use CPF for mortgage, you must refund the principal plus CPF accrued interest (the interest you would have earned if the money stayed in CPF) when you sell your property. CPF explains that this refund helps restore your retirement savings.[3] For a deeper dive into how this affects your cash proceeds, refer to our related guide: How CPF Accrued Interest Affects Property Sale | Homejourney .
How much CPF can you use for property? (By scenario)
CPF Board summarises the key rule simply: the amount of CPF savings you can use for your property purchase depends on the property type, remaining lease, the owners’ age, and the type of loan.[7] Below are the most common scenarios Homejourney sees among buyers.
Scenario 1: Buying a new HDB flat with HDB loan
For many first-time buyers choosing a BTO in towns like Tengah, Woodlands or Tampines, you will often:
- Use CPF down payment of up to 15% (for a 20% total down payment, with 5% cash for some bank loans; for HDB loan the entire 20% can technically be CPF if you have enough OA).
- Service the monthly instalments almost fully with CPF OA contributions.
Since new HDB flats come with a fresh 99-year lease, CPF usage is generally not constrained by lease rules. The main limits will be your loan eligibility (MSR and TDSR) and your OA balance.
Homejourney’s mortgage eligibility calculator at Bank Rates and Mortgage Rates lets you estimate how much loan you can take and how much CPF you’ll likely commit each month, so you don’t over-stretch just because CPF makes the instalment feel painless.
Scenario 2: Buying a resale HDB with bank loan
Resale flats in city-fringe areas like Geylang, Kallang/Whampoa or Bukit Merah can be attractive, but their remaining leases vary widely. CPF usage will be affected if:
- The remaining lease is not enough to cover the youngest buyer to age 95.
- The lease is under certain CPF thresholds, triggering pro-rated usage or bans.[7]
In practice, this means two couples buying similar 4-room flats in Queenstown may have very different CPF usage limits if one flat has 70+ years remaining, and another has 50–55 years remaining. Your banker or agent may tell you “CPF usage is pro-rated” for the older flat – effectively, you must pay more in cash for down payment and monthly instalments.
Because this can make or break your budget, use Homejourney’s property search at Property Search to filter units by price and then model the CPF vs cash mix using our calculator at .
Scenario 3: Buying private property (condo or landed)
For private properties, CPF rules still apply, but you are fully on bank loans. Key practical points:
- Minimum 5% of the purchase price must be in cash for most residential bank loans.
- The rest of the down payment (up to 20% or more depending on LTV and existing loans) can be CPF, subject to CPF housing limits and lease rules.[7]
- Monthly instalments can also be partly or fully paid using CPF OA.
If you are eyeing a resale condo in older projects in District 15 or District 10, pay close attention to remaining lease. For a 35-year-old condo with 64 years left, CPF usage could be partially restricted, especially if one co-owner is significantly younger.
Homejourney’s projects directory at Projects Directory helps you compare project ages, transaction history and surrounding amenities so you can anticipate CPF usage implications before viewing the unit.
How CPF housing limits protect your retirement
While CPF housing limits can feel restrictive, they are designed as safeguards. CPF Board notes that housing limits are a “safeguard against overspending on housing loan repayments at the expense of your retirement savings”.[3]
Three big risks CPF limits help to manage:
- Over-leveraging on expensive homes – especially private condos beyond your income profile.
- Buying very old leasehold properties that may not last through retirement.
- Wiping out CPF OA and having too little left to build your Retirement Account at 55.
