1. Question

As I am 70, my CPF now pays me a compulsory monthly stipend from my retirement account as it must be depleted by age 80. Unlike the ordinary acc., the retirement acc earns a much higher interest so the govt. wants it to be paid out first of all. My friend advices me to transfer retirement acct into CPF Life insurances as they will spread out the capital until death, as most of us are not likely to die at 80 years of age and we might also gain monetarily if this is so., esp. now we are forced to withdraw the monies monthly. What is your opinion?.

2. Answer 
It is difficult to evaluate the two options without actual numbers. 

I do not have the numbers for myself, so I kept my money in the retirement account to earn interest at 4% p.a. (which may be increased due to the higher interest rate environment). i find CPF Life to be complicated and not transparent, so I decided to keep my money in the retirement account (which I can understand). 

Your friend is correct in saying that CPF Life will pay out the money over a longer period of time, but the monthly payment is lower than the retirement account payout. 

Tan Kin Lian