18 February 2025

Money and Me: CPF Special Account Closure, Retirement Planning, and Investment Strategies with Kenny Loh

Has your CPF account closed already because you turned 55 this year? Join Michelle Martin as she dissects how to make your CPF work for you when you turn 55.

• Should you keep your money in the 2.5% earning OA or move what you can to the RA for long-term 4%?
• What are the pros and cons of investing with your OA after age 55 either through CPF or in the open market?
• If liquidity of your CPF funds are your primary concern, what are your choices and what are the risks associated with each choice?
• How can you use your monies to purchase T-bills, dividend stocks, and annuities?
• What interest could you get with different asset classes based on today’s market.

Join Michelle and her guest Kenny Loh, Independent Financial Advisor to understand what happens when you turn 55 with your CPF and discover strategies and options to turning your hard earned CPF monies into income for the long-term.

Plus, get smart insights into tax considerations, liquidity needs, and long-term retirement planning strategies.

Key Highlights

• [00:00:00] Introduction: Host: Michelle Martin, Guest: Kenny Loh, Independent Financial Advisor

• [00:01:30] CPF Special Account Closure: What happens when you turn 55 and your CPF Special Account closes, Options to move money to the Retirement Account

• [00:04:20] CPF Interest Rates Recap

• [00:05:40] Investment Strategies Post-55: Strategies for investing with your CPF Ordinary Account, Pros and cons of different approaches

• [00:07:05] CPFIS: T-Bills, Dividend Stocks, and Annuities: How to use your CPF monies to purchase these assets, Expected returns and associated risks

• [00:11:50] Other considerations and Liquidity Needs: Smart insights into tax planning, Liquidity needs in retirement

• [00:16:50] Tax considerations for transferring sums

• [00:18:10] Long-term Retirement Planning: Strategies for long-term income, Importance of staying informed about market trends

Note: The above analysis are my own personal views and are NOT buy or sell recommendations. Investors who would like to leverage my extensive research and years of Singapore REIT investing experience can approach me separately for a REIT Portfolio Consultation.

Listen to his previous market outlook interviews here:

2025

• Money and Me: What is your T-Bill to S-REIT allocation? (January 2025)

2024

• Money and Me: Trump’s Second Term, Bitcoin, Tesla, AI, and Suntec REIT Mandatory Cash Offer (December 2024)
• Money and Me: Data Centered S-REITs; here is what you need to know (November 2024)
• Money and Me: Finding attractive S-REITs in a rate cutting environment (October 2024)
• Money and Me: What’s behind the S-REIT Rally? Fed Rate Cuts, and should Finfluencers be managed? (September 2024)
• Money and Me: Navigating S-REITs Amid Earnings Season and Potential US Rate Cuts (August 2024)
• Money and Me: Navigating Challenges for Mapletree REITs and REITs related to Changi Business Park
  (June 2024)
• Money and Me: Winners and Losers Among S-REITs, Frasers Property’s Profit Plunge, and the Impact of Sustained High Interest Rates (May 2024)
• Money and Me: Manulife US REIT where could it be heading? Are we at the tail end of the down cycle for S-Reits? (April 2024)
• Money and Me: Will more S-REIT’s suspend distributions? (March 2024)
• Money and Me: US Office Reits – the immediate outlook is bleak but there are opportunities for investors (February 2024)
• Money and Me: Why S-REIT investors are focused on valuations in 2024? (January 2024)

2023

• Money and Me: Can Manulife US REIT be saved? (December 2023)
• Money and Me: Finding bargains in the S-REITs sector today (November 2023)
• Money and Me: How a contrarian investor reads a sell-off (October 2023)
• Money and Me: Finding bargains in the S-REITs sector today (September 2023)
• Money and Me: S-REITs earning stars and landscape quakes (August 2023)
• Money and Me: 3 Singapore REITs to watch (July 2023)
• Money and Me: Are S-REITs in for a promising 2H2023? (June 2023)
• Money and Me: How might the expectations of an impending recession affect S-REITs? (May 2023)
• Money and Me: S-REITs’ 2023 1st quarter report card review (April 2023)
• Money and Me: S-REITs that will hold up well in an increasing interest rate environment (March 2023)
• Money and Me: Winners and losers of latest S-REITs earnings season (February 2023)
• Money and Me: S-REITs’ 2023 outlook (January 2023)

2022

• Money & Me: Is 2023 the year of recovery for S-REITs? (December 2022)
• Money & Me: What happens after the recent S-REIT crash? (November 2022)
• Money & Me: Further Interest Rate Hikes, FHT’s failed Privatization bid (September 2022)
• Money & Me: Q3 2022 SREIT winners (August 2022)
• Money and Me: REIT picking in an inflationary environment (July 2022)
• Money and Me: Are Hospitality REITs the clear way to play the reopening trade in Singapore? (June 2022)
• Money and Me: Can S-REITs maintain its upswing from Q1? (May 2022)
• Money & Me: The case for being bullish on S-REITs amid the Ukraine crisis (March 2022)
• Money & Me: Optimism for S-REIT’s given earnings signals and mapping the possibilities for shareholders in the Mapletree merger (February 2022)
• Money & Me: Mapletree merger, growth in commercial S-Reits and the potential return of Reit IPOs in 2022 (January 2022)

2021

• Money & Me: First Reit, CapitaLand, Daiwa, Digital Core Reit and the best of the S-Reit pivots (December 2021)
• Money and Me: VTL’s and hospitality and retail, a new Reit ETF and Making sense of offers for SPH (November 2021)
• Money and Me: Who benefits from the ESR – ARA Logos Logistics Trust merger? (October 2021)
• Money and Me: China’s Evergrande Group property and the spillover in the property market, breaking down what CapitaLand Invest means for the investor and global REITs to watch (September 2021)
• Money and Me: Are retail and hospitality aggressive plays given the pace of reopening? (August 2021)
• Money and Me: Which REITs have seen a limited impact on occupancy during COVID? (July 2021)
• Money and Me: An overview of the REIT performance (June 2021)
• Money and Me: S-REIT’s: which are most likely and which least likely to be affected by new social restrictions? (May 2021)
• Money and Me: What’s the link between bond yields and S-REITs? (April 2021)

2020

• Money and Me: REITS that did well in 2020 (December 2020)
• Money and Me: An overview of S-REITS, value rotations and REITS paying out higher dividends (November 2020)
• Money and Me: Yield Generating Asset Classes (October 2020)
• Money and Me: The REIT outlook within and beyond Singapore (August 2020)
• Money and Me: Ugly Duckling Earnings turning into Beautiful S- Reit swans? (July 2020)
• Money and Me: V for S-REITs? (June 2020)
• Money and Me: Will revenge spending help REITs? (May 2020)
• Money and Me: What REITs to Look out for? (April 2020)
• Money and Me: Crazy REIT Sales (March 2020)

Kenny Loh is an Associate Wealth Advisory Director and REITs Specialist of Singapore’s top Independent Financial Advisor. He helps clients construct diversified portfolios consisting of different asset classes from REITs, Equities, Bonds, ETFs, Unit Trusts, Private Equity, Alternative Investments, Digital Assets and Fixed Maturity Funds to achieve an optimal risk adjusted return. Kenny is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, SGX Academy REIT Trainer, Certified IBF Trainer of Associate REIT Investment Advisor (ARIA) and also invited speaker of REITs Symposium and Invest Fair.  

You can join my Telegram channel #REITirement – SREIT Singapore REIT Market Update and Retirement related news. https://t.me/REITirement

Cuscaden Peak Investments has proposed to privatise and delist Paragon Reit for $2.78 billion, eyeing major upgrades to Paragon mall. Paragon Reit currently owns Paragon mall, which accounts for 72 per cent of the Reit’s value. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman find out this means for the buyer with Kenny Loh, Wealth Advisory Director, REIT specialist and SGX Academy Trainer.

• [00:00:00] Introduction: Host: Andrea Heng, Guest: Kenny Loh, Wealth Advisory Director, REIT Specialist, and SGX Academy Trainer

• [00:01:10] Overview of the Offer: What does the price of $0.98 mean?

• [00:02:20] Overview of the Offer: How is the price of $0.98 derived? And comparison to other Retail-sector REITs

• [00:05:45] How can the privitisation strengthen Cuscaden Peak’s portfolio?

• [00:08:20] Refurbishment of Paragon: How can Paragon be revived, in the midst of the Orchard Road downturn? The execution of Paragon’s AEI may affect the REIT’s distribution for a while. Privatisation might be a better approach.

Mr. Kenny Loh is a Certified Estate Planning Consultant and also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP). Kenny has more than 10 years in Holistic Estate Planning experience, using a unique “3-in-1 Will, LPA and Standby Trust” solution, to address his client’s social consideration, legal obligation, emotional needs and family’s harmony in his approach. Kenny has Double Master degree in Business Administration and Electrical Engineering, and also an AEPP (Associate Estate Planning Practitioner) jointly awarded by The Society of Will Writers & Estate Planning Practitioners (SWWEPP) of The United Kingdom, in collaboration with Estate Planning Practitioner Limited (EPPL), the accreditation body for Asia.

Check out Kenny Loh profile here and also Estate Planning Services.