How it works
The policy owner must be at least 18 and the person insured, and the policy must have a death benefit. Some can't take a trust nomination, such as Integrated Shield Plans and CPF Investment Scheme policies, LIA says.
The Insurance Act has two kinds:
- Trust nomination (section 132). Only a spouse or children can be named. It creates a trust over the policy moneys, which then aren't part of the owner's estate and can't be taken for their debts. The owner gives up rights in the policy, and trust nominees get living benefits too, such as a surrender payout. Revoking it needs written consent from each adult nominee, and from a parent or guardian, other than the owner, of each younger one.
- Revocable nomination (section 133). Anyone, an organisation included, can be named, for the death benefit. The owner can change it at any time. A new nomination revokes it, and so does assigning the policy, or a later will that disposes of all its death benefits and names the policy.
Which one wins: a trust nomination takes precedence over a will. With a revocable one, the Act pays by the last nomination if it still stands, then by the last will, then by the intestacy law.
CPF savings are separate. They can't be left by will, and CPF Board runs its own nomination, open from age 16 with two witnesses. Marriage revokes a CPF nomination. It isn't on the Insurance Act's list for an insurance one.
Worked example, with a made-up client: he made a revocable nomination for his sister in 2018. In 2025 he wrote a will leaving everything to his wife, without naming the policy. The will doesn't revoke the nomination, so the payout goes to his sister.
Where it shows up in your week
CPF Board suggests reviewing a nomination after a marriage, a birth, a divorce or a nominee's death. The CRM keeps review dates on each client's page, so the question comes up at the next one.
Related terms
Questions advisors ask
Sources
- Insurance Act 1966, sections 131 to 133: relevant policies, trust nomination, revocable nomination, current version as at 27 September 2026, read 27 September 2026
- LIA Singapore, Why naming a beneficiary matters: living and death benefits, who can be named, 26 May 2026, read 27 September 2026
- LIA Singapore, Your Guide to Nomination of Insurance Nominees 2026: policies that can't take a trust nomination, proper claimants, 25 March 2026, read 27 September 2026
- MoneySense, Deciding how to transfer your estate: insurance nomination and the S$150,000 proper claimant limit, last updated 2 July 2026, read 27 September 2026
- CPF Board, Make a CPF nomination: age 16, witnesses, marriage, what it covers, page last modified 26 May 2026, read 27 September 2026