Recently, a WhatsApp message went viral and misled Singaporeans that the CPF payout age has been shifted from 65 to 70.

That prompted CPF Board to clarify that the payout eligibility age is still 65.

However, CPF members who would like to start at 65 would need to opt in for it.

If not, the payout will automatically start at 70 instead.

CPF Board explained that prior to the automatic payout at 70 years old, there was no automatic payout age and some members "did not start their payouts even after age 70".

Hence, they instituted the automatic payout at age 70 in 2018.

Monies kept inside CPF between 65 and 70 would also earn interest.

Why the need to opt-in?

When CPF made its clarifications and was carried by various media, many Singaporeans wondered why CPF members had to write in to CPF to get their payout at 65.

Others were worried that the elderly may not understand the process and miss out on starting their payout at 65.

Here are the comments on CPF's Facebook page:

Here's comments from the Straits Times Facebook post on the issue:

And on the Mothership.sg Facebook post:

Ex-People's Action Party Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh also weighed in on the topic.

He said:

"This does not seem right. We have all assumed payouts start at 65. So the right thing to do is to send every member reaching 65 a letter offering an extension to 70 years old explaining the benefit and let them choose if they want to extend the withdrawal to 70. The baseline should be automatic withdrawal at 65 unless you choose to extend. Too many tweaks to the rules confuse people."

Here's the flip side of the argument for why the payout at 65 is not automated:

Content that keeps Mothership.sg going

??

Property hunting can be a chore, but we made it into a game. Sort of.

???

Pretty pastries and cheese fruit teas. Instagram-worthy cafe without breaking the bank.

??

Here's how to pair your CNY snacks with beer to look like a true blue connoisseur.

?

Find out which decade you should be born in.