I just topped up $8k into my mum's CPF Retirement Account today.   Let me reiterate 5 reasons why I did so instead of giving cash.

1. Tax Relief

For selfish reason, I would like to enjoy tax relief of up to $8k per calendar year for topping up my parent's CPF Retirement Account under the Retirement Sum Top Up (RSTU) scheme. Assuming my tax bracket is at 7%, a relief of $8k will save me $560 of taxes in cash, which is enough to eat more than 100 plates of $4 cai png (vegetables rice) at the coffeeshop. The tax relief is also applicable to family members such as parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, siblings and spouse.

2. Compounding growth at 4%

In today's high inflation environment, the value of cash is also stifled by relatively low interest rates offered by banks' savings accounts. CPF Retirement Account yields at least 4% and up to 6% for senior folks risk-free and guaranteed by the Singapore Government....