Life
Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS)
A low-cost national term-life scheme that gives working CPF members basic death, terminal-illness and total-disability cover, payable from CPF.
What it protects
The shock it absorbs.
DPS is a national, opt-out term life insurance scheme that provides a basic lump sum to your family if you die, become terminally ill, or are totally permanently disabled while covered. It is meant as a financial cushion to tide dependants over the first few years after losing you.
It is deliberately a floor, not a full solution. The maximum sum assured is modest relative to most families' real needs, so DPS is best understood as the base layer that your private term or whole life cover sits on top of.
How it works
In Singapore, in practice.
Eligible Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents are placed on DPS automatically when they start making CPF contributions, on an opt-out basis, and cover runs up to age 65. The scheme is administered through CPF, and premiums can be paid from your CPF Ordinary or Special Account rather than in cash.
Premiums are low and rise with age band, and the payout is a fixed maximum sum assured set by the scheme rather than something you customise. Because it is a group term scheme, underwriting is light and the cost is far below buying equivalent private cover individually.
DPS is run on the CPF Board's behalf by a single appointed insurer (currently Great Eastern Life, whose appointment runs to 2028); the administering insurer is chosen by CPF and can change at future tenders, but the scheme terms remain national. It pays only on death, terminal illness, or total permanent disability, not on critical illness or hospitalisation.
Run the numbers
See it in your own figures.
Estimate how much cover this is meant to provide for your own household.
How much life cover you might need
A needs-based estimate: replacing income, supporting dependants, and clearing debts if you were no longer around. Indicative only.
Where it sits
Its place in your protection stack.
Protection is built in layers. This is the role Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) plays, and the layers above and below it.
Whole life, personal accident, and general cover, added as priorities allow.
Term life sized to your dependants and outstanding debts.
Critical illness and income protection for your working years.
Integrated Shield Plans and riders for private or as-charged hospital cover.
What every Singaporean has by default: MediShield Life and CareShield Life.
The trade-offs
What it does well, and what to watch.
Good for
- A cheap, automatic baseline of life and disability cover
- Cover funded from CPF savings instead of cash
- A starting layer beneath private term or whole life
Watch outs
- The maximum sum assured is small relative to most families' needs; it is a floor, not a complete plan, so do not assume DPS alone protects your dependants
- Cover ends at age 65, so it does not run into later retirement, and it pays only on death, terminal illness, or total permanent disability, not critical illness or medical bills
- Because it is opt-out, some members keep paying premiums without checking whether their total cover (DPS plus private) actually closes their protection gap
Who it's for
When this matters most.
- Almost every working CPF member, since enrolment is automatic and opt-out
- Younger workers who want a cheap protection base before layering on private term cover
- People who want some life cover funded from CPF rather than cash
In the market
What this looks like.
Real Singapore examples, shown to make the type concrete. These are illustrative, not endorsements.
How it connects
Cover that works with this.
Term Life Insurance
Pure death (and usually terminal-illness) cover for a fixed number of years, at the lowest cost per dollar of protection.
Full breakdown LifeMortgage-Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA / Home Protection Scheme)
Term cover whose sum assured shrinks alongside your home-loan balance, so the payout clears the outstanding mortgage if you die or become totally disabled.
Full breakdown LifeWhole Life Insurance
Lifelong death and critical-illness cover that never expires, with a slowly growing cash value, at a much higher premium than term.
Full breakdownSources
Where the facts come from.
- The Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) is an opt-out term life insurance scheme covering CPF members on death, terminal illness, or total permanent disability, with cover up to age 65; premiums are payable from the member's CPF Ordinary and/or Special Account. DPS is administered by a single appointed insurer (currently Great Eastern Life) on behalf of the CPF Board.CPF Board - Dependants' Protection Scheme, cpf.gov.sg
See where Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) fits your own plan.
This is educational, not advice. When you want a detailed look at whether this cover fits your situation, a licensed adviser will map it to your income, CPF, and goals.