Before we even ask any questions about CPF, it is important for us to first understand the true nature of CPF. We have to first analyse and understand the essence of CPF and see clearly for ourselves its technical nature. The realization of the true technical nature of CPF would clear a lot of doubts as to why the government is so reluctant to return the CPF monies back to the people. Simply put: your CPF monies are never your monies in the first place, it never was, never will be. Technically, the monies you are paying every month into your CPF accounts are actually tax monies all along, cleverly reframed as 'your own savings' due to the benefits that I'm going to touch on below.

We just need to do a bit of reframing. For example, considered everything else remain the same, you can reframe CPF to one that is actually a tax that you and your employer pay every month into your own 'personal tax account' and having your retirement 'pension' linked to the total amount of tax that is paid into your CPF account (personal tax account). Is it a coincidence that CPF HQ is located next to IRAS HQ? However, there are indeed a number of benefits in giving you the impression that it is your savings or your own money instead of money being paid to the government as taxes all these while. See below:

1) Whereas initially, you wouldn't give a damn if your employer never pays their tax, now you are really concerned if they never pay your CPF because you think that it is 'your' money (you are actually helping the government to ensure that your employer does not evade paying their due share of tax through your CPF account). Periodically, the CPF Board will remind people to chase their employer to top up their CPF while in essence, what they need is tax money. This will also reduce under-table dealings between employer and employee to evade paying tax (CPF) as it is now in the interest of the employee to make sure his CPF account receives money every month because it is now his money. This trick can be further strengthened if the majority of the people are using their CPF monies to pay their mortgage.

2) By presenting this tax as 'mandatory CPF savings' instead of a tax, Singapore is able to claim that she has the lowest tax rate in the world. In essence, the government is collecting the same amount of money every month but without any obligations to provide for the entitlements that go along with it if it is treated as a tax since it is 'still your money'.

3) By encouraging people to use their CPF to buy flat, it gives people a vested interest in the success of Singapore. You can even view a flat as a type of share. During the mortgage servicing period, in their prime years, however, these people are 'owned' by the banks and government so they have to be obedient and keep working non-stop like a slave. I think this is a very smart move by our politicians to control and enslave the working class in their prime years, by giving them something to lose. Those people who are disobedient would be rendered jobless, unable to pay for their mortgage, fall into arrears and nudged to sell their property and leave Singapore or commit suicide. In the process, our elites don't even need to dirty their hands to kill anyone or force anyone to leave Singapore, these people will kill themselves. Our hypocritical elites just need to pretend to show concern at certain junctures.

4) By forcing people to treat HDB as an investment and forcing them to monetize it to fund their retirement, this will ensure that only the most desperate / or rational people will actually do it, as most people would have irrational sentimental feelings towards their flats and want privacy instead of renting out their rooms. So at the end of the day, after putting in their lifetime 'tax monies' into the property market, only a minority end up withdrawing their money (pension) from the property market while the rest maintain the property market to benefit those elites who own 2 and more properties. This reframing serves the agenda in sucking money away from the people and using their own human psychological weakness against them for the benefits of the elites. Remember, it is only an asset if you own 2 or more properties; it is actually a liability if you only own 1.

Around 20+ more benefits but I don't have time to type.

Technically, CPF has always been a tax. I'm very surprised that so many people are not aware of it.

So if you want to withdraw your CPF in full without renouncing your SG citizenship and being forced to leave Singapore, it can be easily done. Just don't work for a few months. During this period, you would not be paying any CPF (tax) at all. This means that, in an indirect way, you are actually getting back your CPF monies in full for these few months during your unemployment, in the form of free time instead. When our elderly ask for CPF monies, they are actually asking for the free time too, that comes with its presence.