A relative had passed on, but he made sure his worldly affairs were put in order first. Although he listed all his bank accounts and particulars, he missed out on the names of nominees for his Central Provident Fund (CPF) balance. CPF would not release the information, claiming confidentiality between the statutory board and the deceased. The lawyers said they could get a court order for the details, but the next of kin decided not to take that potentially contentious route. If the beneficiaries wanted to keep it a secret, let them carry it to their own graves. Nobody knew what happened to the $80K.
The unclaimed monies at the CPF total $7 million and up. More than $50m lies in other statutory boards - Inland Revenue Authority $36m, Media Development Authority $4.2m, Public Utilities Board $1m. Unless they are claimed within 6 years, they disappear into the government coffers. It was reported last month that $118.5m are kept at the ministries and courts.
People are evicted from their flats if they missed out on the Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC), issued with an arrest warrant for a misplaced parking fine, cut off from electricity and water supply if the bill is not paid. But when they owe you money, it's a different story.
The Ministry of Finance may oversee the sums held by the statutory boards, ministries and courts, but they sure ain't too bothered about making them report on the unclaimed money stashed away. To have an idea of the numbers involved, mosey over to www.unclaimedmonies.gov.sg and see how many debts are outstanding:
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth - 464
Ministry of Finance - 248
Ministry of Home Affairs - 196
Ministry of Manpower - 2566
Central Provident Fund Board - 1744
Housing and Development Board - 1856
Land Transport Authority - 6054
Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board - 301
Factory Registration Fee - 2218
Registration fees for sale, resale and transfer of flats - 441
Miscellaneous - 3399
Rental Deposit - 582
The blurb on the website says that public sector agencies holding on to these monies would very much like to return the monies to the rightful owners, but have not always been able to do so because they could not contact the owners despite repeated attempts to do so. Try explaining that to the people who owe money to the same public sector agencies.
The unclaimed monies at the CPF total $7 million and up. More than $50m lies in other statutory boards - Inland Revenue Authority $36m, Media Development Authority $4.2m, Public Utilities Board $1m. Unless they are claimed within 6 years, they disappear into the government coffers. It was reported last month that $118.5m are kept at the ministries and courts.
People are evicted from their flats if they missed out on the Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC), issued with an arrest warrant for a misplaced parking fine, cut off from electricity and water supply if the bill is not paid. But when they owe you money, it's a different story.
The Ministry of Finance may oversee the sums held by the statutory boards, ministries and courts, but they sure ain't too bothered about making them report on the unclaimed money stashed away. To have an idea of the numbers involved, mosey over to www.unclaimedmonies.gov.sg and see how many debts are outstanding:
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth - 464
Ministry of Finance - 248
Ministry of Home Affairs - 196
Ministry of Manpower - 2566
Central Provident Fund Board - 1744
Housing and Development Board - 1856
Land Transport Authority - 6054
Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board - 301
Factory Registration Fee - 2218
Registration fees for sale, resale and transfer of flats - 441
Miscellaneous - 3399
Rental Deposit - 582
The blurb on the website says that public sector agencies holding on to these monies would very much like to return the monies to the rightful owners, but have not always been able to do so because they could not contact the owners despite repeated attempts to do so. Try explaining that to the people who owe money to the same public sector agencies.