The Dependants' Protection Scheme: A Basic Safety Net

Useful as a floor, not a ceiling — the cover you already have, and the cover you still need. (Where DPS fits.)

If you are a working Singaporean or permanent resident, you are probably already insured for death without realising it. The Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) is a basic term-life policy that CPF members aged 21 to 65 are enrolled in automatically on a valid working contribution, subject to good health.

It pays a lump sum if you die, are diagnosed with a terminal illness, or become totally and permanently disabled. As at June 2026, the maximum sum assured is S$70,000 up to age 60, easing to S$55,000 between 60 and 65, when cover ends.

It is inexpensive, and premiums come from your CPF rather than cash — roughly S$18 a year at 21, rising in steps as you age. For a young worker it is one of the cheapest pieces of cover available.

But the figure is the point: S$70,000 is a safety net, not a plan. For a household with a mortgage and young children, it might cover a year or two of expenses, no more. DPS is best understood as a floor you already stand on — then you size your real life cover on top of it with term insurance.

The practical step is to count DPS as part of your existing cover when you work out your protection gap, and to top up the difference deliberately.

Illustrative example: what DPS is, and its limit

The summary lays out what DPS is, what it pays, what it costs, and the catch — a modest, automatic floor that is rarely enough on its own. Treat it as the base of your life cover, not the whole of it.