Post-Secondary Education Account - transfer of balance to CPF Ordinary Account

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Leong Mun Wai, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the rationale for only transferring Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) balances to the CPF Ordinary Accounts only at age 31 rather than an earlier age; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider allowing PSEA holders to transfer their account balances to their CPF Ordinary Accounts prior to age 31 so that these monies can be used for other purposes such as housing and, if not, why not.

Response

1. The Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) scheme was introduced to provide additional financial support for post-secondary education. Any unused amount in the PSEA will be transferred to the account holder's CPF Ordinary Account in the year he or she turns 31 years old since most account holders would have started employment after age 30. Nevertheless, account holders who have no use of their PSEA balance for further education can write in to MOE to request for early transfer of their PSEA balance to their CPF-OA before 31 years old.

2. Account holders who require the use of the PSEA funds after 30 years old may similarly write in to MOE to extend the time to use the PSEA, and some have done so.