If there’s one topic that never fails to get Singaporeans talking, it’s CPF. Spend enough time at any coffee shop, and chances are you’ll overhear a conversation about it. Earlier this year, a story went semi-viral: a 71-year-old woman, Janet (not her real name), was revealed to likely hold the record for the highest CPF LIFE payout – $4,600 every month, tax-free, for life. How did she do it? By diligently topping up her CPF Retirement Account (CPF-RA) to the prevailing Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS) each year from age 55, while deferring her CPF LIFE payouts from age 65 to 70. Janet’s own verdict on CPF? “The best retirement scheme in the world.” And she’s not wrong. How else can you earn government-backed returns of around 4% a year on your retirement savings and then receive a guaranteed monthly income for life? As you’d expect, the story quickly made its rounds through family WhatsApp chats, personal finance communities on Telegram and Reddit, and...