Medisave and the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS): Complete 2026 Guide

Your Medisave has a ceiling. Here’s what the $79,000 BHS means for your contributions, withdrawals, and Shield Plan premiums in 2026.

Your Medisave account has a ceiling called the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) — $79,000 in 2026, up from $75,500. Once your Medisave balance reaches this cap, new CPF contributions overflow into your Ordinary or Retirement Account instead. BHS is different from your yearly Medisave withdrawal limits, and it directly shapes how much Medisave you can put toward your Integrated Shield Plan and MediShield Life premiums.

Not financial advice. All figures are for educational reference only, sourced from CPF Board and MOH. Data verified as at 2026-08-05.

Table of Contents

What Is the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS)?

The Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) is the ceiling on your Medisave Account (MA) balance. Think of it as a savings target, not a savings floor. It estimates how much you’ll need in Medisave for basic subsidised healthcare in old age.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) adjusts BHS every year for members below 65, to keep pace with rising healthcare costs. Once you turn 65, your BHS locks in at that year’s figure for the rest of your life — it never changes again after that.

From 1 January 2026, the BHS for members below 65 rose to $79,000, up from $75,500 in 2025. If you turn 65 in 2026, your BHS is fixed at $79,000 for life. Members already 66 or older are unaffected — their cohort BHS was locked in years ago.

Here’s the part people often get wrong: BHS is not a minimum you must hit before you can use your Medisave. You can dip into your MA for approved medical expenses at any balance, even $0. BHS only caps how much interest-earning Medisave you can build up — and it also shapes your MediSave contribution rate by age, since your allocation percentages determine how fast you approach the cap.

BHS at a Glance

Source: CPF Board news release, 26 Jan 2026

BHS vs Your Medisave Contribution and Withdrawal Limits

Three different numbers govern your Medisave, and it’s easy to mix them up. Here’s how to tell them apart.

BHS caps how much you can hold in your Medisave Account. The CPF Annual Limit caps how much can flow into all three CPF accounts (Ordinary, Special/Retirement, and Medisave) combined each year — $37,740 in 2026, unchanged from the year before. Withdrawal limits cap how much Medisave you can spend per use, regardless of your balance. For hospitalisation, that’s up to $1,130 a day for the first two days, then $400 a day after that, for inpatient charges.

These three numbers move independently. A higher BHS doesn’t raise your withdrawal limit. A lower withdrawal limit doesn’t shrink your BHS. And your Annual Limit stays the same whether you’re $10,000 or $79,000 into your Medisave balance. Knowing which one applies helps you understand exactly what changes — and what doesn’t — when MOH announces a new BHS figure each year. For a deeper breakdown of per-use caps, see how much MediSave you can use per year.

Source: CPF Board, “Using MediSave for hospitalisation”, updated 6 Apr 2026

What Happens to Medisave Savings Above the BHS?

Nothing is lost. When your contributions push your Medisave balance above BHS, CPF Board automatically redirects the extra to another account.

If you’re below 55, the excess goes to your Ordinary Account (OA). If you’re 55 or older, it first tops up your Retirement Account (RA) — up to your Full Retirement Sum — and only after that does any remainder land in your OA.

There’s a real cost to this redirection, though. Medisave, Special, and Retirement Accounts currently earn 4% per annum (the floor rate for Jan–Mar 2026). Your Ordinary Account earns only 2.5% per annum. So once your contributions start spilling into OA because you’ve hit BHS, that portion of your CPF savings earns a full 1.5 percentage points less — unless it’s captured by your RA instead, which still earns the higher 4% rate.

Here’s the part that surprises a lot of people: you don’t need to top up to BHS before you can use your Medisave. You can withdraw from your MA for approved medical expenses at any balance, and you’re never required to “refill” it first. If your MediSave limit and withdrawal caps for 2026 already feel confusing, this is the single most important thing to remember: BHS restricts how much you build up, not how much you’re allowed to spend.

How BHS Affects Your Integrated Shield Plan and MediShield Life Premiums

MediShield Life (MSL) is Singapore’s basic national hospitalisation insurance — every citizen and PR is automatically covered. An Integrated Shield Plan (ISP) is a private add-on layered on top of MSL, sold by insurers like AIA, Great Eastern, Prudential, NTUC Income, and Singlife. It’s what lets you upgrade to Class A wards or private hospitals.

Your ISP premium is really two components bundled together: the MSL component, and an “additional private insurance” component for the higher coverage. This split matters, because Medisave treats them differently.

You can pay the MSL component of your premium fully with Medisave — there’s no separate cap on it, as long as you have the balance. Premiums rise with age. Here’s the official schedule for a few age bands.

Source: CPF Board, MediShield Life Premium Schedule, for policy start/renewal on or after 1 Apr 2025. Before means-tested subsidies.

The additional private insurance component is a different story. It’s capped by something called the Additional Withdrawal Limit (AWL) — the BHS 2026 increase and your Shield Plan MediSave both interact with this limit, but they are not the same lever. AWLs rise with age, similar to premiums:

Source: CPF Board, “What are Additional Withdrawal Limits (AWLs) for IP premiums?”, 2026

Here’s a worked example. Say you’re 45, and your Medisave balance already sits at BHS. Your MSL premium (~$637/year for the 41–50 band) is fully covered by Medisave. Your ISP’s additional private insurance component costs $800/year. Your AWL at age 45 is $600/year, so Medisave covers $600 of that $800 — you pay the remaining $200 in cash.

This is the real link between BHS and your Shield Plan: BHS doesn’t cap what you can withdraw for premiums — the AWL does that job. But BHS shapes how much of a Medisave cushion you’re carrying into retirement, which determines how comfortably you can absorb premium increases as your AWL rises with age. If you’re not sure how the moving pieces fit together for your own policy, see using MediSave to pay your Integrated Shield Plan premiums for a step-by-step breakdown.

What This Means for You: Practical Steps by Life Stage

If you’re below 55 and still building toward BHS: your Medisave keeps earning the higher 4% rate on every dollar up to $79,000. There’s no action needed — contributions above that simply redirect to your OA automatically.

If you’re approaching 65: whatever your BHS is in the year you turn 65 becomes fixed for life. You don’t need to rush extra contributions in beforehand — the frozen figure is set by your cohort, not by how much you’ve saved.

If you’re already drawing on Medisave for a Shield Plan: check your ISP’s additional premium against your age band’s AWL. Premiums — and AWLs — both step up as you age, so budget for a growing cash top-up, especially from your early 60s onward. When comparing providers, our best Integrated Shield Plan in Singapore guide breaks down which plans keep the private component closer to your AWL.

One more thing worth knowing: if your CPF contributions are already overflowing into your Ordinary Account because you’ve hit BHS, that OA cash doesn’t have to sit idle at the 2.5% floor rate. Some Singaporeans choose to invest a portion of spare OA or SRS savings instead — platforms like Endowus (referral code 2V343) let you do this alongside your CPF planning. This isn’t the right move for everyone, so weigh it against your own risk appetite and timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Planning Around Your Medisave and BHS?

If your CPF contributions are overflowing past BHS into your Ordinary Account, put that spare cash to work — or map out your retirement numbers first.