Quora Answer: Should the Singapore Government Allow People to Withdraw Their CPF in Exchange for Not Seeking Government Help?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Should the Singapore government force people to sign an agreement to never seek help from the government in exchange for allowing them to withdraw their CPF?”

If we can never seek help from the government, then what is the point of government?  Government is voted in to serve the people.  Once that compact is broken, our sovereignty is compromised because there is no relationship between a portion of the citizenry and the government.

Secondly, the reason why there is a withdrawal limit and minimum sum is because the average person is a financial idiot.  It was on this premise that the CPF was created.  It was an instrument to force people to save so that they could afford home ownership, and have some money for their retirement.

Personally, I would dispute this notion that the CPF belongs to the people.  It should be treated as a partial tax, and people should plan their finances with what they have.  The CPF should be invested to beat the minimum sum, and utilised for housing and hospitalisation.  That money was never meant for our out of pocket expenditure.  If a person is financially savvy, or has hired a proper financial advisor, it is most likely that he would not need the CPF money.