Clause 3

The Board may, on or after the date of commencement of section 3 of the Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Act 2024, close the special account of a member who has attained the age of 55 years (whether before, on or after that date), unless any prescribed circumstances apply.(2) In connection with the closure of the member’s special account under subsection (1), the Board must transfer the moneys standing to the credit of the member in the special account to the ordinary account or retirement account of the member (or both) in accordance with regulations made under section 77(1).(3) Subsections (4) to (9) apply where the member’s special account has been closed under subsection (1).(4) Where any amount (P) would have been payable to the member’s special account if not for its closure, the Board may pay P in the following manner:

if there is a shortfall in the retirement sum applicable to the member or in the amount specified by the Minister for the member pursuant to section 15AA(5)(a) — pay P (in whole or in part) to the member’s retirement account towards the maintenance of that retirement sum or specified amount (as the case may be), and the remaining part (if any) of P to the member’s ordinary account;

in any other case or if (despite paragraph (a)) the prescribed circumstances apply — pay P to the member’s ordinary account.(5) Subject to subsection (6), the Board may pay the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of any interest payable on P paid under subsection (4) as if P were in the member’s special account for the relevant period and the special account had not been closed, in the following manner:

if the shortfall mentioned in subsection (4)(a) remains after the payment to the member’s retirement account under subsection (4)(a) — to the member’s retirement account, even if the interest so paid exceeds that shortfall;

if there is no longer any shortfall mentioned in subsection (4)(a) after the payment to the member’s retirement account under subsection (4)(a), or if P was paid under subsection (4)(b) — to the member’s ordinary account.(6) Where —

P is a refund arising from the request of the member to vary or cancel the member’s application to withdraw moneys from the member’s special account; or

the Board considers it reasonable to do so in the circumstances,the Board may, instead of making any payment of interest under subsection (5), pay interest in the following manner:

if P was paid (in whole or in part) to the member’s retirement account under subsection (4)(a) — pay to the member’s retirement account the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of any interest payable on the amount of P so paid as if that amount were in the member’s retirement account for the relevant period, even if the interest so paid exceeds the shortfall mentioned in subsection (4)(a);

if P was paid (in whole or in part) to the member’s ordinary account under subsection (4)(a) or (b) — pay to the member’s ordinary account the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of any interest payable on the amount of P so paid as if that amount were in the member’s ordinary account for the relevant period.(7) Subject to subsection (8), where any amount (D) would have been deducted or transferred from the member’s special account if not for its closure, the Board may —

deduct or transfer both of the following from the member’s available ordinary account balance:

D, in whole or in part;

the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of any interest payable on the amount of D so deducted or transferred, as if that amount were in the member’s ordinary account for the relevant period; and

if D is not deducted or transferred under paragraph (a)(i) in whole — deduct or transfer both of the following from the amount standing to the credit of the member in the member’s retirement account:

the remaining part of D, in whole or in part;

the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of any interest payable on the amount of the remaining part of D so deducted or transferred, as if that amount were in the member’s retirement account for the relevant period.(8) If the prescribed circumstances apply, the Board may instead of making any deduction or transfer under subsection (7) —

deduct or transfer D (in whole or in part) from the amount standing to the credit of the member in the member’s retirement account; and

deduct or transfer the interest paid (if any) on the amount of D so deducted or transferred, in the following manner:

deduct or transfer from the amount standing to the credit of the member in the member’s retirement account — the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of the interest paid on D —

while D was in the member’s special account before its closure; and

while D was in the member’s retirement account after the closure of the member’s special account, and before such deduction or transfer of interest from the retirement account;

deduct or transfer from the member’s available ordinary account balance — the whole or any part, as the Board may determine, of the interest paid on D while D was in the ordinary account after the closure of the special account, and before such deduction or transfer of interest from the ordinary account.(9) Unless otherwise provided by or under this Act, where a member’s special account has since been closed under subsection (1) and the Board is required or permitted to determine the whole or any part of any interest that would have been payable on —

an amount standing to the credit of the member in the member’s special account;

an amount that is treated as if it had not been deducted, transferred or withdrawn from the member’s special account;

an amount (including an amount equivalent to the value of an instrument) that is treated as if it had been restored to the member’s special account and not debited from that account;

an amount that is treated as if it had been transferred to the member’s special account upon the occurrence of any event;

an amount that is treated as if it had been paid on its due date to the member’s special account; or

an amount that is treated as if it were in the member’s special account by way of any other transaction,the Board may make that determination by reference to any interest that would have been payable on that amount as if that amount were standing to the credit of the member in the member’s special account, and the special account had not been closed.(10) In this section —“available ordinary account balance”, in relation to a member, means the amount standing to the credit of the member in the member’s ordinary account, after excluding any reserved amount standing to the credit of that member in his or her ordinary account;“relevant period” means —

in a case of any amount mentioned in subsection (4) that was withdrawn or transferred from the member’s special account before its closure — the period starting on the date of the withdrawal or transfer (as the case may be) and ending on the date immediately before the date the amount is paid (in whole or in part) to the member’s retirement account or ordinary account under subsection (4);

in a case of any amount mentioned in subsection (4) that does not fall under paragraph (a) but would otherwise have been payable to the member’s special account — the period starting on the date the amount was payable to the member’s special account and ending on the date immediately before the date the amount is paid (in whole or in part) to the member’s retirement account or ordinary account under subsection (4); or

in a case of any amount mentioned in subsection (7) that would have been deducted or transferred from the member’s special account — the period starting on the date the amount was in the special account or transferred to the special account (as the case may be) and ending on the date immediately before the amount was deducted or transferred (in whole or in part) from the member’s ordinary account or retirement account under subsection (7).(11) For the purposes of this section and section 77(1)(kb), a reference to a payment of any amount to a special account, an ordinary account or a retirement account includes a reference to the refund, restoration or crediting of the amount to, or the retention of the amount in, any of those accounts.”.