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Silver Housing Bonus | Right-sizing 

The SHB has been introduced to help lower-income elderly households supplement their retirement income when they right-size their flat. If you buy a smaller flat type (up to 3-room flat), you can apply for the SHB and receive up to $20,000 cash bonus per household by using some of your net sale proceeds to top up your CPF Retirement Account (RA) and join CPF LIFE.

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Eligibility conditions

You are eligible for the SHB if you meet the following criteria:

 

Criteria                                           Eligibility

Age, Citizenship                            At least one owner is a Singapore Citizen aged 55 or above

 

Income                                           Gross monthly household income of $12,000 or less

 

Existing Property                         HDB flat (met Minimum Occupation Period for resale), or

                                                        Private property of Annual Value of $13,000 or less; and

                                                        No concurrent ownership of second property

 

Property You Are Buying            Smaller HDB flat (up to 3-room); and

                                                        Purchase price does not exceed selling price of existing property

 

Housing Transactions                 Booking of new HDB flat, or application to buy resale flat must be:

                                                        before sale of existing property; or

                                                        within 6 months of completing sale of existing property

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Computing net sale proceeds

The net sale proceeds are calculated as follows:

Net sale proceeds = Selling price of existing property less any outstanding loan on existing property, refund to CPF Account, resale levy, deductible of up to $15,000 for ancillary costs, and cash used for purchase of next property.

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Top-up amount required

The amount you need to top up depends on the amount of net sale proceeds:

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Net Sale Proceeds                    CPF Top-up                                      Net Sale Proceeds               Cash Bonus
                                                   Requirement                                    to be kept in Cash

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Less than $60,000                All net sale proceeds#                                      $0                              $1 for every
                                                                                                                                                                $3 top-up

 

$60,000 to $160,000                     $60,000#                                        $0 to $100,000                     $20,000

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More than $160,000             $60,000 + Further top-up                  $100,000 + Remaining          $20,000

                                               (i.e. Net sale proceeds –                         after further top-up

                                                 $60,000 - $100,000)^                                                                          

                                                 

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Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS)

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Criteria                                           Eligibility

Age                                                  All owners must have reached the eligibility age (currently set at age 65) or older

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Citizenship                                    At least one owner must be a Singapore Citizen

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Income                                           Gross monthly household income of $12,000 or less

 

Flat type                                          4-room or smaller

 

Property Ownership                     No concurrent ownership of second property

 

Minimum Occupation Period     All owners have been living in the flat for at least 5 years

 

Minimum Lease                             At least 20 years of lease to sell to HDB

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During the lease period

As the LBS is for those who wish to age-in-place, the lease is non-transferable in the open market. You may not sell the flat in the open market or sublet the whole flat

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Premature termination of lease

If you wish to terminate the lease prematurely, you can:

• Return the flat to HDB

• Receive a refund for the remaining lease, pro-rated on a straight-line basis

Your CPF LIFE plan will not be terminated and will continue to provide a lifelong monthly income.

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Outliving the lease period

If you outlive the lease of your flat, you will not be left homeless.  HDB will look into the circumstances of your case and consider your family support, health condition, and financial status to determine the appropriate housing arrangement for you.

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Passing away within the lease period

In this situation, your spouse or child who is living in the flat will be given the option to:

• Live in the flat for the balance of the lease period; or

• Return the flat to HDB

If your lease is terminated prematurely, we will reimburse the remaining value of the lease to your beneficiaries, based on a straight-line depreciation.

 

The unused portion of your premium*, if any, will be refunded to your CPF accounts when you pass away. The monies will then be distributed to your nominees. If you have not made a nomination, the monies will be distributed to your family members according to Singapore's intestacy law.

 

*The unused portion of the premium is the annuity premium (excluding annuity payouts that you have received thus far). For example, if the annuity premium is $50,000 and you have received $250 monthly for a total of 10 months, the unused portion of the premium is $47,500.

 

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Renting Out Your Flat/ Bedroom

You can rent out your flat or bedrooms to monetise your flat, and generate income for your retirement needs. Find out what eligibility conditions you need to fulfil in order to qualify for renting out your flat.

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Renting out a flat 

Minimum occupation period

If you* wish to rent out your flat, you are required to fulfil the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of 5 years. If your flat is non-subsidised (purchased from the open market without a Housing Grant) and purchased before 30 August 2010, the MOP is 3 years.

The MOP is computed from the date of purchase of the flat if you are the original purchaser. If there was a resale of part-share or transfer of flat ownership, the MOP is computed from the effective date of the resale of part-share/transfer of flat ownership, or the date the owner was included as an authorised occupier of the flat.

You may print HDB’s confirmation of your eligibility to rent out your flat by logging in with your SingPass at ‘My HDBPage’ > My Flat > Purchased Flat - Renting Out > Renting Out of Flat.

*   SPR flat owners are not allowed to rent out their flat.

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Non-Citizen (NC) Quota for renting out a flat

If you wish to rent out your flat to any non-Malaysian NCs*, do take note that your application will be subject to the NC quota for renting out of flat.

* This refers to Singapore Permanent Residents and foreigners.

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Renting out bedrooms

As the owner of a 3-room or bigger flat, you may rent out your spare bedrooms without prior approval from us. However, you must:

• Register the renting out of bedrooms with us within 7 days from the commencement date of the rental

• Continue to live in the flat during the rental period, along with the authorised occupiers

• Comply with other conditions for renting out of bedrooms

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Retirement Sum Scheme

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CPF LIFE

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