Cohort Notes
These are accounts shared by participants across our three programmes. They are edited lightly for length but not for substance.
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Participants to Date
4.7
Average Programme Rating
28
Cohorts Completed
91%
Return for Another Programme
Participant Accounts
Tan Hui Ling
Senior Manager, Ang Mo Kio
"I had received CPF statements for years without really reading them — the vocabulary was unfamiliar and I kept putting it off. The Pension Reading Programme changed that. We went through the documentation together slowly, with a glossary. By the end of the four weeks I could read my own statement with some confidence. I enrolled my husband in the next cohort."
Pension Reading Programme · April 2025
Rajeswari Nair
Secondary School Teacher, Toa Payoh
"The Family Finance Workshop was not what I expected — I thought it would be a lecture. Instead we worked in pairs on conversation scenarios, which felt more practical. My sister attended with me. The scenario cards are now in a drawer at home and we've used them more than once when the conversation has come up at dinner. The follow-up circle the week after was a good addition."
Family Finance Workshop · March 2025
Lim Kai Heng
Operations Director, Bishan
"I joined the Mid-Life Planning Reading Circle because I wanted something longer than a weekend. The monthly format suits how I think — I need time to sit with a question before I can discuss it properly. The clothbound journal they gave us was genuinely good quality and I wrote in it between sessions. Four months sounds long, but it passed quite quickly."
Mid-Life Planning Circle · Jan–April 2025
Susan Chong
HR Consultant, Serangoon
"I was slightly apprehensive before the Pension Reading Programme — I wasn't sure whether I would find the CPF material too dense. The glossary cards they send each week made a real difference. The facilitator was careful not to interpret the documentation for us; she would ask questions that made us read more closely. I came away with a clearer picture of my own payout schedule than I had managed from the documentation alone."
Pension Reading Programme · February 2025
Mohan Rajan
Self-Employed, Tampines
"My wife and I attended the Family Finance Workshop together. We have two adult children who are now working, and we wanted a common vocabulary before conversations that felt overdue. The dialogue exercises were somewhat awkward at first — reading aloud from scenario cards with a stranger — but that passed. What stayed was a set of phrases we both know and can use without it becoming an argument."
Family Finance Workshop · April 2025
Wong Yee Lin
Account Manager, Queenstown
"I have attended both the Pension Reading Programme and the Mid-Life Planning Reading Circle. They cover quite different ground. The pension programme is quite specific — the vocabulary of CPF. The reading circle is broader and slower. I found the monthly rhythm of the circle suited me better as a format. But the binder from the pension programme still sits on my desk."
Two Programmes · 2024–2025
Participant Journeys
Case Study · Pension Reading Programme
At 52, this participant had never read his CPF statement beyond the balance figure. He described the payout documentation as "written for someone who already understands it." He joined the Pension Reading Programme not to make any decision, but to understand the vocabulary.
Over four weekly sessions, the cohort worked through CPF Life documentation chapter by chapter. The glossary cards introduced terms in sequence. By the third session, he was annotating his own statements during the reading. The facilitation format encouraged him to raise questions rather than sit with assumptions.
He enrolled in the Mid-Life Planning Reading Circle the following quarter and referred two colleagues to the pension programme. His account: "I don't understand everything, but I know what I don't understand now. That is different from before."
"Four weeks. I came in not reading my statements and left reading them. That sounds modest. It did not feel modest."
Case Study · Family Finance Workshop
Two sisters, aged 44 and 47, wanted to develop a shared vocabulary before a family conversation about their parents' retirement arrangements. Neither felt equipped to raise the topic without it becoming either awkward or directive. They attended the weekend workshop together.
The paired scenario exercises covered cross-generational household money conversations — introducing topics, listening to concerns, holding open questions without resolving them prematurely. Working as a pair meant the exercises had immediate application. They took the scenario cards home.
The household conversation happened about six weeks later. They described it as "still difficult, but navigable." They used two of the scenario card framings during the discussion. The follow-up reflection circle gave them a place to debrief.
"The workshop gave us a vocabulary for it. We didn't have one before."
Reading Room
Phone
+65 6471 8205Address
12 Marina Boulevard, #18-01
Marina Bay Financial Centre
Singapore 018982
Reading Room Hours
Enquiries are responded to within two business days. For programme availability, include which programme you are interested in and your preferred timing.
Professional Standards
Programme materials aligned with Singapore's adult financial literacy competency frameworks and SkillsFuture reading education guidelines.
Full compliance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. No participant financial data is collected or retained beyond programme administration.
All pension programme reading materials sourced from publicly available CPF Board and MAS documentation. Updated before each cohort intake.
Enrolment Window
Places are allocated in order of enquiry receipt. Send a note with your programme of interest and available timing.
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