Written Answer to PQ on Expansion of CPF Education Loan Scheme for Certification Courses

NOTICE PAPER NO. 44 OF 2025 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 25 SEPTEMBER 2025
QUESTION NO. 228 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik

To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider expanding the CPF Education Loan Scheme to include postgraduate and professional certification courses in view of the Whole-of-Government push for skills upgrading.

Answer:

1. The primary objective of CPF is to support members’ retirement, healthcare, and housing needs. When the CPF was expanded to support education needs, it was designed as a loan scheme and confined to basic full-time tertiary education at local approved educational institutions. With increasing life expectancy and higher costs of living, we need to ensure that CPF members have sufficient savings for retirement, healthcare and housing.

2. Postgraduate and professional certification courses are generally tailored for working adults who are in a better position to save for the fees. Therefore, we have no plans to open up the CPF Education Loan Scheme for other courses beyond basic tertiary education at local approved educational institutions.

3. Singaporeans could consider other available financing options, such as government tuition fee loan for eligible students studying the approved MOE-subsidised postgraduate courses at the Autonomous Universities and study or education loans offered by financial institutions. Singaporeans could also tap on their SkillsFuture Credit, including the Mid-Career Credit top-up of $4,000 for Singaporeans aged 40 and above, to defray the out-of-pocket cost for eligible courses funded by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).