THIRTEEN shophouses and two plots of land in Kampong Glam were auctioned off yesterday, as part of the long-term conservation plan for the heritage di

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) rules are to be changed to give divorced couples a ’smooth and equitable’ distribution of their CPF monies when they divide their matrimonial property.

Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, in making the announcement yesterday, said one of the changes will let a member transfer money in his or her CPF account into the CPF account of the former spouse.

He gave an example to illustrate the change, which will kick in later this year.

Under current rules, if $100,000 had been used from the CPF account to buy the matrimonial property, the $100,000 must go back into the member’s CPF account.

This is the case even if the court had awarded the former wife half the proceeds, or $50,000. The reason is that the husband is required to set aside the Minimum Sum in his CPF account.

With the change, the courts can now issue an order to transfer $50,000 from the member’s CPF account to the former spouse’s CPF account.

Dr Ng was responding to Mr Ong Ah Heng (Nee Soon Central), who had asked for measures to help divorced wives who get very little from the sale of the matrimonial property.

Another change will allow for the immediate transfer of a property to the former spouse.

Currently, when a member uses his CPF to buy a property and the court orders the ownership to be transferred to the ex-spouse, the member must return, in cash, to the CPF account whatever amount is due to it.

With the change, that is no longer required.

Instead, the former wife will be required, when she sells the property, to refund the amount into her former husband’s CPF account.

The same applies if the former husband had been awarded the property and the former wife had used her CPF to pay for its purchase.

Mr Ong welcomes the change.

He said: ‘This will be especially helpful to the women from low-income families. They are usually not very educated and unskilled.

‘Most of them also fight for custody of the children, so they really need something to fall back on.’

Source : Straits Times - 9 Mar 2007