CPF gets weird to show retirement planning can be easier

CPF Board and MoneySense are taking a lighter approach to retirement planning, using fortune tellers, fortune cats and an overload of financial information to show Singaporeans that preparing for the future does not have to be complicated.

The new “It’s easier with CPF” campaign, created by GOVT VCCP with media partner Starcom Worldwide, aims to encourage Singaporeans to take a more active role in planning for their financial future by highlighting the digital tools and resources available through CPF.

The campaign is built around the observation that people can make retirement planning more dramatic than it needs to be. Across three films, Singaporeans are shown turning to increasingly unconventional ways of getting closer to their financial goals, from wading through a maze of financial information to consulting fortune tellers and putting their faith in fortune cats.

Salihin Ramli also serves as film director and Gabe Chen as photographer. Freeflow Productions handled film and photography production.

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The work uses humour and surreal visuals to point audiences back towards CPF’s digital planning tools, including the Retirement Payout Planner, which helps members understand their potential retirement payouts and consider their financial needs.

The campaign spans film, out-of-home, digital and social, and will also extend into on-ground activations through the “Ready for life festival”. The roadshows will give Singaporeans an opportunity to explore CPF’s tools and resources for different life stages and financial goals.

Er Yan Peh, group director, communications, CPF Board, said the campaign aims to make retirement planning feel more approachable, particularly for younger Singaporeans.

“Retirement planning should feel less daunting and more doable. By pairing bold creative storytelling with on-ground experiences and digital tools such as the Retirement Payout Planner, ‘It’s easier with CPF’ turns retirement planning into something simpler, more accessible, and actionable for all, including younger Singaporeans who stand to benefit most from the power of compounding when they start early,” she said.

For GOVT VCCP, the creative approach was designed to challenge the perception that retirement planning is an intimidating or dry subject.

Kevin Poh, executive creative director at GOVT, said: “Retirement planning can quickly become an intimidating and dry topic for most people, especially the younger folks. So we wanted to shift that perception by creating a look that feels like something from a fever dream.”

“And communicate the ease and simplicity of using CPF’s planning tools in an entertaining, slightly strange, yet hopefully memorable way,” he added.

The campaign marks another effort by CPF Board to position CPF as more than a system for managing mandatory retirement contributions, with the organisation also providing members with tools to better understand their financial position, plan for life milestones and make more informed decisions about their future.

The campaign also follows CPF Board and MoneySense’s “Make every day matter. Plan your life story” campaign in 2025, which positioned financial planning as a personal journey rather than a bureaucratic obligation. It introduced “The city of life stories”, an interactive digital experience that helped Singaporeans discover financial tools and resources relevant to different life stages.

The 2025 campaign also featured a series of films covering topics including budgeting, healthcare, saving and retirement, alongside enhanced CPF digital planners. It ran across digital, social media and out-of-home.

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