If someone dies without a CPF nomination, their CPF goes to the Public Trustee's Office and the law decides who gets it. A will can't change that, because CPF savings don't form part of the estate.
Who gets it
Your mum dies with no nomination, leaving your dad and her children
Someone married with no children dies, and their parents are alive
For someone who wasn't Muslim and had Singapore as their permanent home.
A partner they never married isn't counted as a spouse, and illegitimate and "transferred" children aren't counted under these rules either. For a Muslim family, it goes by faraid. The family first gets the inheritance certificate from the Syariah Court, and both the Public Trustee and the Syariah Court charge fees.
How long the family waits
Typically within 17 working days
CPF moves the money to the Public Trustee, whose own page says it typically takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Then
The Public Trustee writes to whoever told CPF about the death.
Nothing heard 6 weeks after the death
Call the Public Trustee's Office on 1800 225 5529 with the person's identity number, MinLaw says.
When the family applies
Online with Singpass, with papers proving how they're related.
Usually within 4 weeks of the full set
The Public Trustee pays, minus its fee.
Up to six months in all, CPF says.
If anyone getting a share is under 21, the Public Trustee holds it until then, and a parent or guardian who's struggling to support that child can apply for an allowance from it.
What a nomination changes
No nomination
With a nomination
Who gets in touch
The Public Trustee, once CPF has moved the money
CPF, within 10 working days of hearing about the death
Applying
The family applies and proves how they're related
The people you named are paid without applying, if they meet CPF's criteria
Making a nomination is free. Marriage cancels one you made before it, and divorce doesn't, so if you've married since you last made one, it was cancelled when you married.
Aged 65 and above
Aged 16 to 64
Money that's still waiting
At the end of 2024, the Public Trustee was holding $184 million of CPF with no nomination that nobody had claimed yet. If someone in your family died without one, search its unclaimed money list on pto.mlaw.gov.sg by their name.
My family checklist covers the CPF nomination, the will and the LPA. The family checklist
Sources
- CPF Board, when savings are paid if no nomination was made, last updated 23 Feb 2026
- CPF Board, making a CPF nomination, last updated 25 May 2026
- CPF Board, on your passing away, last updated 25 May 2026
- CPF Board, CPF and faraid, last updated 25 Sep 2026
- Public Trustee, CPF money, last updated 10 Nov 2026
- Public Trustee, money held for minors, last updated 10 Nov 2026
- Public Trustee, unclaimed monies list, last updated 10 Nov 2026
- Public Trustee, unclaimed monies at 31 Dec 2024, figures at 31 Dec 2024
- MinLaw on ask.gov.sg, un-nominated CPF and the Public Trustee, updated Jun 2026
- Intestate Succession Act 1967, sections 2, 3, 4 and 7, current version, read 9 Nov 2026
- MOM, written answer on CPF nomination statistics, 18 Feb 2025
If you'd rather go through it with someone
Risk and financial planning with me starts with a financial audit. We go through what you already have, what's missing and the questions worth asking next. If you want advice after that, I'd do a full fact-find first, and only if you ask for one. There's no cost, and nothing changes unless you say so. I'm paid by commission or an ongoing fee if you buy anything through me, and I'll tell you that amount first, in dollars.
Lu Jia Jun · Financial Adviser Representative, GEFA · RNF No. LJJ300837068
I do not represent CPF Board, IRAS or any government agency. General information only, not financial advice.