Iggy’s Journal: Did You Lose Money Using Your CPF for the HDB? Three Questions to Check Before You Sell

Iggy’s Journal: Did You Lose Money Using Your CPF for the HDB? Three Questions to Check Before You Sell

Sun 1 Nov 2026 | Evening

The Numbers

When an HDB flat is sold, the CPF principal used for the flat, plus accrued interest, goes back into the seller’s own CPF account first. The accrued interest is not a fee paid to CPF Board. It is the amount the Ordinary Account savings would have earned while they were used for the flat. Below 55, the refund goes to the Ordinary Account, credited at 2.5% a year for 1 October to 31 December 2026. From 55, it first tops up the Retirement Account to the Full Retirement Sum, where the rate is 4% a year for the same period. Accrued interest continues until the refund is made.

My Personal Take

When I read “lost money” next to an HDB sale, I want to know where the difference actually went. The cash in hand looks smaller after the refund, and the sale figure alone does not show what happened to the rest. That leaves me with two questions. Which account does the refund land in at each age, and what does it earn once it is there? The video and the Substack piece follow the refund from the sale to the account it lands in, below 55 and from 55.

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/U2-3DigsKi8

📩 Substack: https://investingiguana.com/p/did-you-lose-money-using-your-cpf

Cheers,

Iggy 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.