CPF Home Protection Scheme (HPS): What It Covers, Whether It's Compulsory, and What It Costs
HPS is the mortgage-reducing insurance CPF requires if you pay an HDB flat's loan with CPF. Who must have it, what it pays for, the premium, what happens if you are turned down, and how often it actually pays out, from CPF's own figures.
The Home Protection Scheme (HPS) is CPF's mortgage-reducing insurance for HDB flat owners. If you use CPF savings to pay your HDB flat's monthly loan instalments, from HDB or a bank, HPS is required, unless CPF exempts you because private policies cover the loan; if you pay in cash, CPF strongly encourages it. It settles your share of the outstanding loan, up to the sum insured, if you die, become terminally ill or totally and permanently disabled, until you are 65 or the loan is paid up. Premiums are yearly and come from your Ordinary Account. It doesn't cover private homes or ECs, and if CPF turns you down on health grounds you can still use CPF for your instalments. Since 26 May 2025, members with milder pre-existing conditions may be offered cover at a higher, loaded premium, which they can take or decline.
The Home Protection Scheme is the insurance many HDB owners have without ever choosing it. Use your CPF to pay the monthly loan instalments and HPS is part of the deal: a mortgage-reducing policy that pays off your share of what is left of the loan if the worst happens, so your family keeps the flat.
This guide explains who must have it and who can opt out, what it covers and what it doesn't, what it costs and how you pay, what happens if CPF turns you down, how a claim works, and what CPF's own statistics show about how often it pays out. Rules are CPF Board's, as at 26 September 2026.
What is the CPF Home Protection Scheme (HPS)?
It is CPF's own home-loan insurance for HDB flat owners. If an insured owner dies, becomes terminally ill or totally and permanently disabled, HPS pays off their share of the outstanding housing loan, up to the sum insured, so the family doesn't lose the flat. Cover runs until you are 65 or the loan is paid up.
CPF's definition: HPS is "a mortgage-reducing insurance that protects you and your loved ones from losing your Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in the event of death, terminal illness, or total permanent disability" (CPF). "Mortgage-reducing" means the cover follows the loan down as you repay it.
HPS at a glance (as of 2026, verify on CPF):
| Home Protection Scheme | |
|---|---|
| Which homes | HDB flats only: not private homes, ECs or privatised HUDC flats |
| Who must have it | Owners who pay the flat's monthly instalments with CPF, on an HDB or bank loan (cash payers are "strongly" encouraged) |
| What it covers | Death, terminal illness, total permanent disability |
| Until when | "until he/she turns 65, or until the housing loans are paid up" |
| What it pays | Your share of the outstanding housing loan, "up to the insured sum", to HDB or the bank directly |
| Premium | Yearly, deducted from your Ordinary Account |
| Opting out | Exemption if private life policies cover the loan to the end of its term or 65 |
Source: CPF's HPS page (CPF).
HPS insures the loan, not the flat: it keeps the home by clearing the debt.
Is it compulsory to buy HPS?
Yes, if you use CPF savings to pay your HDB flat's monthly loan instalments, unless CPF exempts you because private life policies already cover the loan. If you pay the instalments in cash, it is optional, though CPF "strongly" encourages it. And if a milder health condition means CPF offers you cover only at a higher, loaded premium, taking it is your choice.
CPF's rule: "If you’re using CPF savings to pay your monthly housing instalments, HPS is required. If you’re using cash, we strongly encourage you to apply" (CPF). The Housing Scheme terms say the same for HDB flats: "You have to be insured under the CPF Home Protection Scheme if you are using your CPF savings to service the housing loan for your HDB flat or DBSS flat" (CPF).
It applies to HDB loans and bank loans alike, as long as the home is an HDB flat. How you join depends on the loan: "If you’re taking an HDB loan, you can apply for HPS the same time you apply to withdraw your CPF savings for monthly housing instalments through HDB. If you’re taking a bank loan, you can submit an online application to apply for HPS."
The way out is an exemption, covered below: it needs private policies that do the same job.
One group chooses. From 26 May 2025, HPS "expands to cover members with certain pre-existing health conditions that are not so severe, such as certain types of stroke and heart disorder", with CPF offering "an HPS cover with premium loading" (CPF on Ask.gov). For those members, "Participation … will be on an opt-in basis" (CPF).
Can HPS be paid by CPF?
Yes. HPS premiums are yearly and CPF deducts them automatically from your Ordinary Account. If your balance falls short, CPF asks you to top up, and a co-owning spouse, parent, child or sibling can authorise their own Ordinary Account to pay the shortfall.
CPF: "Payment is simple, with annual premiums deducted automatically from your Ordinary Account (OA)", and "We’ll inform you to top up your OA if the balance is not enough to pay the premium" (CPF).
The family option: "family members (i.e. your spouse/parent/child/sibling) who co-own the flat with you, can authorise us to use their OA savings to pay your HPS premium shortfall."
The catch is timing. "Ensure that you’ve enough funds in your OA for premium payments on your policy anniversary month": "your cover could lapse if you fall behind on your premium payments."
The premium is one of the costs beyond the home itself that CPF can pay; what else it can and can't pay for is in CPF housing withdrawal limits.
Your Home ownership dashboard shows your cover status, amount and share: see the CPF property withdrawal statement.
What does the Home Protection Scheme cover?
Death, terminal illness (likely to cause death within 12 months) and total permanent disability, until you are 65 or the loan is paid up. It settles your share of the outstanding loan with HDB or the bank; anything above the loan goes to your Ordinary Account. It doesn't cover private homes, ECs, or anything after 65.
The three events, in CPF's words (CPF):
- Death. CPF starts the claim itself once it is notified by ICA.
- Terminal illness: "an illness that is likely to result in the death of the member within 12 months".
- Total permanent disability: "(i) the inability to take part in any employment permanently, or (ii) the total permanent loss of physical functions of both eyes, or two limbs, or one eye and one limb".
How much. HPS pays "to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) or the mortgagee directly to settle the outstanding housing loan (based on the share of HPS cover) up to the sum insured", and "If the HPS sum assured is higher than the outstanding loan, the excess amount will be paid to the insured member's CPF Ordinary Account".
To put a scale on it, here is the loan HPS would be settling at the start, on a flat at today's median price:
| Flat type | Median resale price, 2026 H1 | HDB loan at 75% (the most HPS would settle at the start) |
|---|---|---|
| 3-room | $443,000 | $332,250 |
| 4-room | $630,000 | $472,500 |
| 5-room | $740,000 | $555,000 |
PropKaki analysis of HDB resale records; the cover falls as the loan is repaid.
What it doesn't cover: "private residential properties, such as executive condominiums (ECs) or privatised Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) flats", any period after 65 ("Should your housing loan only be paid up after you turn 65, do consider getting private insurance coverage"), and excluded pre-existing conditions stated in your HPS certificate (CPF).
How much does HPS cost?
It depends on your outstanding loan, its term, whether it is at HDB's concessionary rate or a market rate, your age and gender, and your share of cover. CPF's own example, from when it cut premiums by about 10% in July 2021: a 36-year-old man with a $200,000 HDB loan over 30 years pays $209.40 a year. For your figure, use CPF's HPS premium calculator.
CPF sets premiums by "the outstanding loan amount, loan repayment period, type of loan (concessionary or market rate), gender and age of the member" (CPF). Its worked example, when premiums fell by about 10% from 1 July 2021: "a male member aged 36 with a $200,000 housing loan from HDB for 30 years will pay a reduced annual premium of $209.40 instead of $232.40".
The choice that is yours is your share of cover. "Your share of the HPS cover should at least match the proportion of the monthly housing instalment which is payable with your CPF savings and/or cash. The total share of cover per household should add up to at least 100%." Each owner can insure up to 100%, and "a higher share of cover results in a higher annual premium" (CPF).
The share also sets what a claim pays: HPS settles the loan "up to the insured sum, based on the share of cover applied". Insure 50% and a claim settles half the outstanding loan; your co-owner still owes the rest. A lower share saves premium and leaves that gap.
Health can move the price too. Since 26 May 2025, a member with a milder pre-existing condition may be offered cover with "premium loading", premiums "commensurate with their higher likelihood of claims"; for everyone else, "there will be no change to the standard premium rate" (CPF).
CPF's HPS premium calculator, linked from its HPS page, estimates your own figure; PropKaki doesn't reproduce CPF's premium tables.
What happens if HPS is rejected?
You can still use your CPF savings to pay your monthly housing instalments. For a milder pre-existing condition, CPF may first offer cover at a higher, loaded premium, which you can take or decline. If a serious condition rules you out, CPF says you may be able to port earlier HPS cover to the new flat, or look to private insurers.
CPF's answer: "If you have a serious pre-existing medical condition and are not eligible for Home Protection Scheme (HPS) cover, you can still use your CPF savings to pay your monthly housing instalment" (CPF). Two routes follow:
- "If you were previously covered under HPS, you may be eligible to port your previous HPS cover to your new property."
- "You may also consider applying for insurance coverage from private insurers."
Before a refusal there may be a middle step. Since 26 May 2025, "CPF Board will assess each application and offer eligible members an HPS cover with premium loading" where a pre-existing condition is "not so severe, such as certain types of stroke and heart disorder" (CPF on Ask.gov). Those more severe, "such as those currently undergoing treatment for cancer", can't join (CPF).
Why it can happen: "Your eligibility for an HPS cover is subject to approval and you being in good health. You may be required to undergo a medical examination." Declare your health truthfully: "Any HPS cover issued based on false or misleading information can be voided at any time, and such insurance claims will be denied" (CPF).
Being turned down for HPS doesn't stop you using CPF; it leaves your family without the cover.
Does HPS cover private property or an executive condominium?
No. HPS is for HDB flats only: CPF says it "does not cover private residential properties, such as executive condominiums (ECs) or privatised Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) flats". For those, CPF suggests private insurance.
CPF's wording is direct: "HPS does not cover private residential properties, such as executive condominiums (ECs) or privatised Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) flats", and "If you’ve an outstanding housing loan for a private property, consider purchasing private insurance coverage" (CPF).
That matters for ECs in particular, because you can use CPF for an EC's loan instalments, yet HPS doesn't apply. The policies CPF accepts in place of HPS for an HDB flat, such as mortgage reducing term assurance, show the kind of cover private-home owners use instead.
How does an HPS claim work?
For a death, CPF starts the claim itself once ICA notifies it, and pays the outstanding loan to HDB or the bank. For terminal illness or total permanent disability, you apply; HPS can pay your instalments for up to two years before CPF reviews a lump-sum payment. Claims arising from excluded conditions or false declarations aren't paid.
CPF's process (CPF):
- Death: "we will automatically assess the deceased’s claim eligibility once CPF Board is notified of the member’s death by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA)". Benefits "will be paid in a lump sum"; any excess goes to the member's Ordinary Account and then to their CPF nominees.
- Terminal illness or total permanent disability: you apply on medical grounds. The illness or loss of function must have started "on or after 1 May 2016", and a claim for being unable to work permanently needs you to be "no longer physically employed". Then "the member's housing instalments can be paid by HPS for up to two years. After this period, the member’s eligibility to claim the remaining insured amount in a lump sum will be reviewed."
What isn't paid: claims from "excluded pre-existing health conditions stated in the HPS certificate"; in the first policy year, "self-inflicted injury or suicide" and certain criminal acts; and any claim where the member "provided false or misleading information", or arising from "wars, warlike operations, or participation in any riot".
How many HDB owners does HPS protect, and how often does it pay out?
564,000 members were insured in mid-2026, with $110.8 billion of cover. In 2025 CPF approved 791 claims, 575 on death and 216 on incapacity: about 1.4 for every 1,000 people insured, with an average sum assured of $104,804 per approved claim (not the amount paid).
CPF publishes the scheme's numbers (CPF; CPF):
| Year | Members insured | Death claims | Incapacity claims | All claims | Claims per 1,000 insured | Sum assured claimed | Average per claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 570,000 | 613 | 274 | 887 | 1.56 | $80.8m | $91,094 |
| 2022 | 562,000 | 606 | 255 | 861 | 1.53 | $79.2m | $91,986 |
| 2023 | 559,000 | 609 | 243 | 852 | 1.52 | $81.7m | $95,892 |
| 2024 | 559,000 | 582 | 199 | 781 | 1.40 | $77.3m | $98,976 |
| 2025 | 565,000 | 575 | 216 | 791 | 1.40 | $82.9m | $104,804 |
CPF Board statistics. "Sum assured claimed" is CPF's "sum assured of approved claims", which CPF notes does "not represent the actual amount paid". Claims per 1,000 and the average are PropKaki arithmetic.
Two readings. A claim is rare in any one year, about 1.4 in 1,000 in 2025, but a loan runs for 25 or 30 years, and the years add up. And the average sum assured per claim has risen, from $91,094 in 2021 to $104,804 in 2025. Across the five years, CPF approved 4,172 claims.
Roughly 800 approved claims a year, each one paying down a family's housing loan.
Can I be exempted from HPS?
Yes, if private life policies cover your outstanding housing loan to the end of its term or to age 65, whichever is earlier. You apply through your insurer, after you own the flat and the loan is disbursed. One common reason an exemption fails: the household's cover adds up to less than 100%.
The policies CPF accepts: "Whole Life · Term Life · Endowments · Life Riders (must be attached to a basic policy) · Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA) / Decreasing Term Rider", which "must cover your outstanding housing loan up to the full term of loan or until you turn 65, whichever is earlier" (CPF).
How it works: "You can apply for HPS exemption after you have obtained legal ownership of the flat and the housing loan for the property has been disbursed", and "We will only process applications submitted through insurers". CPF advises applying for HPS first to avoid delays. If the exemption reaches CPF within a month of your HPS cover being issued, the premium comes back in full to your Ordinary Account; later, the refund is pro-rated.
Why exemptions fail (CPF): the household's exemption and HPS cover "adds up to less than 100%"; policies from several insurers not all received "within seven calendar days"; an address that "does not tally with our records"; or no CPF housing records for the flat.
What is the biggest mistake people make with HPS?
Letting the cover lapse by running the Ordinary Account too low on the premium's anniversary month. Reinstating within six months is simple; after a year you have to apply afresh, and your health decides whether you get cover back.
HPS is automatic until it isn't. The premium comes out of your Ordinary Account once a year, and if the money isn't there, "your cover could lapse" (CPF). CPF's reinstatement rules then depend on how long it has been (CPF):
| Cover lapsed | What you can do |
|---|---|
| 6 months or less | "Apply to reinstate your HPS cover online." |
| More than 6 months, up to 1 year | Reinstate "with supporting reason and health declaration", subject to approval |
| More than 1 year | "Apply for a new HPS cover with health declaration", subject to approval and good health |
Two smaller traps sit alongside: a bank loan repaid in cash doesn't end your cover automatically ("You must write to us to terminate your HPS cover"), and cover ends at 65 even if the loan doesn't.
Keep a premium's worth in your Ordinary Account, and check your cover on the Home ownership dashboard each year.
Official sources
The CPF pages behind this guide, all read on 26 September 2026.
Methodology and sources
Where every rule and figure on this page comes from, and what we did not claim.
Official rules and figures. The scheme's rules are CPF Board's: its HPS page (updated 18 March 2026), its claims page (7 August 2025), its FAQs on eligibility (17 June 2026), lapsed cover (4 March 2026) and exemption failures (14 June 2024), its Housing Scheme terms (7 September 2026), its July 2021 premium release, its 2024 CPF (Amendment) Bill highlights (14 October 2024) and its Ask.gov answer dating the loaded-premium cover to 26 May 2025. The participation and claims figures are CPF's statistics, to 2026 Q2 and 2025. All read on 26 September 2026.
Proprietary figures. Claims per 1,000 insured and the average sum assured per claim are PropKaki's arithmetic on CPF's published figures. The loan-size table is PropKaki's analysis of HDB resale records (2026 H1 national medians) at HDB's 75% loan limit. How we work: PropKaki methodology.
What we have not claimed: today's premium for any borrower (CPF's calculator gives it), that HPS is better or worse than a private policy, or whether a claim would succeed in your case. This is a practical explainer, not financial or insurance advice. Check your cover with CPF Board.
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