The required rates of contribution to CPF accounts over the past 25 years are shown in Table B-1 . All employees in Singapore have a private property right to the funds which accumulate in their individual CPF accounts. These funds may be withdrawn at retirement, in the event of permanent disability or if the individual emigrates from Singapore or Malaysia. At the account holder's death, the funds are payable to the individual's heirs. Prior to 1987, funds were withdrawn as a lump sum at the time of retirement.
Retirees can use the balance of their fund for any purpose.
The funds may be used only for treatment at a government hospital or an approved private hospital. 35 Strangely, Medisave funds cannot be used to purchase outpatient care, including physicians' services or expensive outpatient renal dialysis and long-term care. People also cannot borrow against future Medisave deposits to pay current bills at private hospitals, although family members can pool their Medisave balances to pay another member's hospital bill, and people who enter some government hospitals can settle their bills from future Medisave deposits. Once that total is reached and maintained, any additional contributions are automatically placed in an individual's ordinary account. The Singapore government currently is negotiating with private health insurance companies and is apparently committed to allowing some portion of the Medisave account funds to be used for the purchase of health insurance coverage.