Singapore boasts a renowned healthcare system, but its services come at a premium, and medical inflation can consistently outpace general inflation. Proactive financial planning is a must to afford healthcare whenever you need it.

Your CPF MediSave Account (MA) is your first line of defence—a personal savings account designed specifically to afford future health expenses. But how much savings for healthcare do you need? Beyond your mandatory monthly contributions, do you really need to top up your MediSave? Read on to find out more about all you need to know about MediSave.

What can MediSave be used for?

There are a few uses for MediSave, besides outpatient treatment, hospitalisation and rehabilitation, which can be used to pay for your own needs or those of your approved dependents.

1. Can I use my MediSave to pay for insurance premiums? Yes, there are a few ways in which you can subsidise your insurance premiums. 

MediShield Life is a basic health insurance plan that all Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents are entitled to. Premiums under MediShield Life are automatically deducted from your MediSave account, and can help with large hospital bills or outpatient treatments. 

On the other hand, an Integrated Shield Plan (IP) combines your MediShield Life with any additional private insurance plan that you may have. For an IP, your MediSave will only be able to cover premium costs up to the Additional Withdrawal Limit (AWL) for your age group, after which, you would need to pay in cash.

2. Can I use my MediSave for my family/loved ones? Yes, you can use your MediSave account to pay for any of your approved dependants. Your approved dependents can refer to spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings or children.

3. Can I use my MediSave for pregnancy/my newborn? Yes, you can use your MediSave funds during and post-pregnancy.

Under the MediSave Maternity Package, you can use your MediSave funds for pre-delivery, daily hospital charges, and baby delivery, as per your withdrawal limits.

To add to this, the MediSave Grant for newborns was increased from S$4,000 to S$5,000 for every Singaporean Citizen newborn born from 1 April 2025.

What is the CPF MediSave cap (or Basic Healthcare Sum) in 2025?

Before deciding whether to top up your MediSave, you first need to know the Basic Healthcare Sum, or BHS, which is the cap on the amount you can have in your MediSave. 

The BHS is adjusted annually to keep pace with the expected growth in healthcare costs and medical inflation. For 2025, the BHS for members aged 65 and below is set at S$75,500.

Here are the BHS over the past few years:

The BHS that applies to you in the year you turn 65 will be your personal BHS for the rest of your life. It will no longer increase for you annually.

For example, if you turn 65 years old in 2025, your personal BHS will be fixed at S$75,500 for the remainder of your life. Even if the BHS for younger cohorts rises in 2026, your personal MediSave limit will remain locked at S$75,500.

What happens after your MediSave exceeds the BHS?

Whether you reach the prevailing BHS for your cohort or your personal BHS, the outcome is the same. Once your MediSave account is full, the system has an "overflow" mechanism that ensures your funds continue to work for you.

If you are under 55 years of age, overflowing funds will be transferred to your Special Account (SA), while 55-year-olds and above will find their funds being transferred to their Retirement Account (RA). In both cases, if you already have the Full Retirement Sum in your SA or RA, the excess will flow into your OA.

Should you top up your MediSave? 

The decision to top up your MediSave account should be weighed against your current and future financial obligations. Earlier in 2025, this became even more apparent with public discussions about health insurance affordability and the launch of tools like the CPF Health Insurance Planner. 

These highlight a few key concerns for Singaporeans, namely, increasing healthcare costs, the corresponding rise in insurance premiums, and a worrying trend of individuals potentially overpaying for IPs that may not match their actual needs.

Many are paying hefty premiums for private hospital coverage, when in reality, they may primarily use the public healthcare system in their later years. This leads to a critical question that every working adult must confront: Will we have enough in our MediSave to cover both insurance and medical expenses, not just today, but throughout our entire retirement? 

Here are a few pros and cons to help you make your decision as to whether you should consider topping up your MediSave.

The benefits of topping up your MediSave

1. Secure your healthcare safety net: A well-funded MediSave account acts as a safety net, which is especially important for retirement when you no longer have a stable source of income. It can help to pay your insurance premiums, ensuring you always have access to affordable healthcare. 
2. Receive tax savings: You are entitled to dollar-for-dollar MediSave top-up tax relief on your voluntary cash contributions up to S$8,000 for the calendar year. This CPF voluntary contribution tax deduction directly reduces your chargeable income. 
3. Earn risk-free returns: Savings in your MediSave minimally earn 4.0% interest per annum, and even up to 6.0% after you turn 55. The power of compounding means that even small top-ups made today can grow into substantial sums over the years.

Considerations before topping up your MediSave

While building a buffer is attractive, it's crucial to consider if it's the most efficient use of your capital. An aggressive top-up strategy isn't automatically the right one for everyone.

1. Do you have enough cash? MediSave cannot be withdrawn as cash, and top-ups are irreversible. Ensure you have sufficient cash on hand for other needs beyond healthcare and insurance before you do a cash top-up to your MediSave.
2. Do you have enough for retirement? Following the same logic as above, you will need an income source for living expenses at retirement. Building up your SA or RA may be of higher priority than your MA if you have not, or are not en route to fulfilling your spending needs at retirement.
3. Are you already on track to meet the BHS? Before making a voluntary contribution, use the projection tools on the CPF website. If you have high earning power and a long career ahead, your mandatory monthly contributions may already be sufficient to reach the BHS by the time you retire. In this scenario, you need to consider if the eventual overflow to other CPF accounts is desired.

Ultimately, there is no magic number for your MediSave. It depends on factors including your income, how much Medisave you are using and will use for insurance, your health condition and family medical history. Use tools like the CPF Health Insurance Planner to understand your needs, review your IP coverage to ensure you aren't overpaying, and then decide if a MediSave top-up is necessary.

Who might benefit from a MediSave top-up?

A MediSave top-up could be more beneficial for specific groups of individuals. See if you fall into one of these categories:

• Self-employed & freelancers: For self-employed persons and freelancers earning more than S$6,000 in Net Trade Income for the year, MediSave top-ups are mandatory. However, making a voluntary cash top-up beyond your mandatory MediSave contribution allows you to build your healthcare funds and ensure that you have more protection as you may potentially encounter health issues the further you move in life.
• Individuals with dependents: If you have dependents, you can make cash top-ups to their MediSave to secure their access to healthcare. They can be your parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, spouse or siblings. Up to S$8,000 of these cash top-ups receive tax relief, on top of the S$8,000 cap for cash top-ups made to your own CPF accounts.
• Pre-retirees: If you are nearing retirement and will lose your monthly income, making a voluntary contribution to your MediSave before you lose your active source of income could be a proactive way of ensuring more protection for your retirement income. Topping up your MA could offer you reassurance as you enter a new phase of life, allowing you to focus solely on your retirement and mitigating any potential health costs.

How to top up your MediSave

If you've decided that a MediSave top-up is right for you, the process is straightforward. Here’s how to do it:

1. Check your limit: Log in to your CPF account via the website or mobile app using your Singpass. Your maximum top-up amount is calculated with a simple formula: S$75,500 (the 2025 BHS) minus your current MediSave balance.
2. Perform the top-up: You have several convenient options:
   
   • CPF e-Cashier: Visit the CPF Board website, log in with your Singpass, and use the e-Cashier service to make a payment via direct debit from your bank account.
   • CPF Mobile App: The simplest method is often via the CPF Mobile app. You can generate a unique QR code and use your mobile banking app to complete the MediSave transaction instantly.
3. Note the deadline: To qualify for tax relief for the Year of Assessment 2025 (the taxes you file in 2026), your contribution must be made by December 31, 2025. It's advisable not to wait until the very last day to avoid any potential processing delays.

Frequently asked questions on MediSave in 2025 (FAQ)

• What is the MediSave limit for 2025? The MediSave limit, officially the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS), is S$75,500 for CPF members aged 65 and below in 2025.
• Can I get tax relief for topping up my parents’ MediSave? Yes, you can claim tax relief for cash top-ups made to your parents' or grandparents' MediSave accounts, provided their annual income does not exceed the prevailing threshold (currently S$4,000) and they are living in Singapore.
• Should I top up my MediSave or Special Account (SA)? This depends entirely on your priority. You should prioritise MediSave if your primary concern is securing funds for healthcare and insurance premiums. Prioritise the SA if your main goal is to maximise your future retirement income from CPF LIFE.
• How much MediSave can I use per year? The amount of MediSave you can use is based on the MediSave withdrawal limit per procedure or scheme. Different treatments and schemes are allocated different limits. 

For example, when using MediSave for your hospitalisation bills, you are allowed to use up to S$1,130 per day for the first two days and S$400 per day from that point onwards. See the full list of MediSave withdrawal limits here.

• Can MediSave be withdrawn? You cannot withdraw your MediSave as cash. That being said, under the MediSave Care scheme, Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents can withdraw up to S$200, depending on how much MediSave balance they have left in their accounts.
• Can I withdraw my MediSave after 55? No, you can not. This is a common point of confusion for those looking to withdraw money from their CPF accounts past 55. Your MediSave funds are designed to support lifetime healthcare needs and to support you through your retirement. If you have met the Full Retirement Sum (FRS), you are allowed to withdraw excess cash from your Ordinary Account (OA) past the age of 55.