How you save for retirement in Singapore depends on four things: CPF as your base, the retirement sum you aim for, the gap you fill yourself, and how early you start. CPF LIFE turns your Retirement Account into a monthly income for life from 65, so your job is to pick the income you want, see how much of it CPF covers and save the difference. CPF Board estimates that someone turning 55 in 2026 who sets aside the Full Retirement Sum of S$220,400 will get about S$1,780 a month from 65. Want S$3,000? Then your gap is S$1,220 a month, and every year you start earlier makes it cheaper to close. Below are the 2026 figures, the tax reliefs that cut the cost of saving, and what to do in each decade of your working life.
Start with what you spend, not with a lump sum. Take your household spending today and remove what will be gone by the time you stop work, such as the mortgage and school fees, then add what tends to rise later, mainly healthcare. What's left is the monthly income you are aiming for, and the next step is to see how much of it CPF will pay.
CPF Board sets three retirement sums according to the year you turn 55, and each one maps to a monthly payout from 65. Once you reach 55, your BRS and FRS are fixed for life. The ERS, the most you can top up to, rises every year, and from 55 you can top up to the current year's ERS. The table shows CPF Board's figures for people turning 55 in 2026. Its payout estimates assume the CPF LIFE Standard Plan and 4% interest.
| Retirement sum | Set aside in your RA at 55 | Estimated payout a month from 65 | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) | S$110,200 | S$950 | Basic living costs, not rent. With a property pledge you can withdraw RA savings above this |
| Full Retirement Sum (FRS) | S$220,400 | S$1,780 | The default amount set aside at 55, twice the BRS |
| Enhanced Retirement Sum (ERS) | S$440,800 | S$3,440 | The most you can top up your RA to, twice the FRS |
The sums go up every year. The BRS was S$106,500 for people who turned 55 in 2025, is S$110,200 for 2026 and will be S$114,100 for 2027, a rise of about 3.5% a year. So if you are 30 now, your own sums at 55 will be larger in dollar terms, and prices will have risen too, which means the 2026 figures work best as a yardstick at today's prices rather than a forecast of your number. Our guide to the BRS, FRS and ERS covers the property pledge and what happens on your 55th birthday.
Say you want S$3,000 a month at today's prices and expect to reach the FRS. CPF LIFE covers about S$1,780 of that. The gap is S$1,220 a month, or S$14,640 a year. Over 20 years from 65 that adds up to S$292,800, and over 25 years to S$366,000, before any investment return or inflation. Your own savings have to supply that pot.
CPF LIFE pays for as long as you live, so the base layer cannot run out. Your own savings can, which is why sizing the gap for 25 years is safer than 20. Put your own balances into our CPF LIFE payout estimator to get your starting number.
Most of your retirement base builds without you lifting a finger. From 1 January 2026, if you are a citizen or a PR from your third year and 55 or younger, 37% of your monthly wage goes into CPF: 20% from you and 17% from your employer, on wages up to the S$8,000 ordinary wage ceiling. That puts the monthly contribution at S$2,960 at most. The rate steps down after 55. PRs in their first two years pay lower graduated rates, unless they and their employer apply to pay the full rates.
| Your age | Total rate (you and your employer) | Your share | Most a month on S$8,000 wages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 and below | 37% | 20% | S$2,960 |
| Above 55 to 60 | 34% | 18% | S$2,720 |
| Above 60 to 65 | 25% | 12.5% | S$2,000 |
| Above 65 to 70 | 16.5% | 7.5% | S$1,320 |
| Above 70 | 12.5% | 5% | S$1,000 |
Each contribution is split across three accounts. At 35 and below, CPF's 2026 allocation sends about 62% to the Ordinary Account (OA), 16% to the Special Account (SA) and 22% to MediSave. On a S$5,000 salary, about S$1,150 of the S$1,850 monthly contribution lands in your OA and S$300 in your SA, with the other S$400 in MediSave. The SA's share grows with age and reaches 31% of each contribution between 50 and 55.
The accounts earn different rates. From October to December 2026 the OA pays 2.5%. Every other account, including the Retirement Account (RA), pays 4%, a floor the Government has extended to 31 December 2027. CPF then adds an extra 1% on the first S$60,000 of your combined balances, with no more than S$20,000 of that counted from the OA. From 55 the extra becomes 2% on the first S$30,000 and 1% on the next S$30,000.
At 55, CPF creates your RA and moves savings from your SA and OA into it, up to the FRS. The SA closes for members aged 55 and above, so contributions after 55 go into the RA until it holds the FRS, then into the OA.
OA money you spend on a flat never reaches your RA. A paid-off home lowers the income you need later, so this can be a fair trade, but check what a bigger housing loan takes out of your retirement sum before you sign.
From 65, CPF LIFE pays you every month for life. The Standard Plan pays a level amount. The Escalating Plan starts lower and rises 2% a year to help with prices. The Basic Plan starts lower and falls once your balances drop below S$60,000. You can push the start back to 70, and each year you wait raises payouts by up to 7%, or up to 35% in total. Our CPF payout guide compares the plans side by side.
A cash top-up under the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme (RSTU) is the most direct way to raise your CPF LIFE payout. Below 55 the cash goes into your SA, and from 55 into your RA. It earns the 4% floor plus any extra interest, and you cannot take it out for anything else.
Tax relief is what makes it cheap. IRAS gives relief of up to S$8,000 a year for top-ups to your own account and another S$8,000 for top-ups to family. Parents and grandparents count (in-laws too), and so does a spouse or sibling who earned S$8,000 or less the year before. Relief only counts top-ups up to the current FRS. From 55 you can keep topping up to the ERS for a higher payout, but the part above the FRS earns no relief. CPF Board has to receive the top-up by 31 December for it to count towards the next year's tax bill.
Here is what that is worth. If your chargeable income sits between S$80,001 and S$120,000, your top tax rate is 11.5%, so an S$8,000 top-up to your own SA saves S$920 in tax. Made at 35, that S$8,000 grows to about S$25,900 by 65 if it earns 4% a year, before any extra interest.
Weigh that against what you give up. A top-up is one-way. The money stays locked until your payouts start, it cannot help with a home or an emergency, and CPF does not refund it. The relief also counts towards the S$80,000 yearly cap on all personal reliefs, so check you have room under it. If you are still building an emergency fund or carrying credit card debt, deal with those first.
Moving OA savings to your SA, or to your RA from 55, lifts the rate from 2.5% to 4% without any new cash. You get no tax relief for it, you cannot reverse it, and that OA money is no longer there for housing. Our CPF top-up guide walks through both routes step by step.
If a parent is a Singapore citizen aged 55 or above, has less than S$110,200 in their RA, earns S$4,000 a month or less on average, lives in a home with an annual value of S$21,000 or less and owns no more than one property, they may qualify for the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme. The Government matches cash top-ups dollar for dollar up to S$2,000 a year, with a lifetime limit of S$20,000. Top-ups that attract the grant get no tax relief, so on the first S$2,000 the grant takes the place of the relief.
The Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a retirement account you open at one of three local banks. Singapore citizens and PRs can put in up to S$15,300 a year, and foreigners up to S$35,700. Whatever you pay in by 31 December comes off your chargeable income for that year.
The money is yours to invest, and returns are not taxed while they stay inside. You get the tax saving once, in the year you contribute, but the growth only comes if you invest the balance, so leaving it as idle cash in the account wastes most of the scheme.
| Chargeable income band | Your top tax rate | Tax saved on S$15,300 |
|---|---|---|
| S$40,001 to S$80,000 | 7% | S$1,071 |
| S$80,001 to S$120,000 | 11.5% | S$1,759.50 |
| S$120,001 to S$160,000 | 15% | S$2,295 |
Access is the catch. Withdraw before the statutory retirement age that applied when you made your first contribution, and the whole amount is taxed with a 5% penalty on top. That age moved to 64 on 1 July 2026, so it is 64 if your first contribution is made from that date. Once you reach it, only half of each withdrawal is taxed and you can spread withdrawals over 10 years. Say you take out S$40,000 a year: S$20,000 is taxable, and if you have no other taxable income it falls entirely within the first S$20,000 of income, which IRAS taxes at 0%.
At a 7% top rate, each S$1,000 you put in saves S$70 in tax. At 11.5% it saves S$115, and the lock-in is the same either way. A CPF top-up gives you a 4% floor and income for life, while SRS lets you choose the investments and leaves a way out before retirement, at a price. Used together they give up to S$23,300 of relief a year, inside the S$80,000 cap on all reliefs. Our SRS account guide covers opening one. To see your own tax saving, try the SRS tax savings calculator.
CPF top-ups and SRS both have yearly caps, so most people fill the rest of the gap with cash investments. Before you invest for retirement, have an emergency fund of three to six months of spending in a savings account, and clear any credit card or personal loan debt. Card interest costs far more than any portfolio is likely to earn.
Then match the money to the time it has. Cash you need within five years belongs where it will not fall in value, such as Singapore Savings Bonds or Treasury bills. For anything you will leave alone for 15 or 20 years, you can take more risk for more return, usually through a low-cost fund that holds shares across many markets. As retirement gets closer, shift part of it into bonds and cash each year, so a market fall at 63 does not cut your income at 65. If you have never bought a fund, start with our guide on how to start investing in Singapore.
Time does more of the work than the amount. At an assumed 5% a year, S$500 a month from 30 to 65 grows to about S$568,000 on S$210,000 paid in. Start at 40 and the same S$500 a month reaches about S$298,000. To catch up from 40 you would need about S$1,000 a month, which gets you to roughly S$596,000. The 5% is an assumption for illustration. Real returns on shares move from year to year and can be negative.
Insurers and banks sell retirement annuities and endowment plans. Some promise a guaranteed income, but they lock money up for years and their costs are harder to see. Ask these questions before you sign anything:
What you should be doing changes with each decade. Use this table as a checklist and come back to it when your income or family changes.
| Age | Focus | CPF moves | Your own savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20s | Build the habit | Let contributions build and read your CPF statement once a year | Emergency fund first, then invest a fixed sum each month, even S$100 to S$200 |
| 30s | Housing and family costs peak | Decide how much OA goes into the flat; an RSTU top-up saves S$115 in tax per S$1,000 at an 11.5% top rate | Raise your monthly investment with each pay rise |
| 40s | Highest earning years | Use the S$8,000 RSTU relief each year; check whether your parents qualify for the matching grant | Weigh SRS against a CPF top-up (the same S$115 per S$1,000 at 11.5%) and recheck your gap every few years |
| 50 to 55 | Check you are on track | Look at your Retirement Dashboard for your projected RA at 55 | Start moving part of your investments into bonds and cash |
| 55 to 65 | Lock in the base | RA forms at 55; top up towards the ERS if you want more; pick a CPF LIFE plan | Plan SRS withdrawals over 10 years from your retirement age |
| 65 and after | Draw your income | CPF LIFE starts at 65, or later up to 70 for up to 35% more | Draw down slowly and keep a year or two of spending in cash |
The order still holds at 45 with little saved. Begin with the cheapest moves: the RSTU relief each year, the 4% floor on SA and RA money, and working a few more years. Each year you defer CPF LIFE past 65 raises the payout by up to 7%, and each extra year of work adds contributions and shortens the period your own savings must cover. Check too that your housing loan will be paid off before you stop work, because a mortgage is the largest bill most retirees can remove.
Start from the monthly income you want. For people turning 55 in 2026, the Full Retirement Sum of S$220,400 pays about S$1,780 a month from 65 on the CPF LIFE Standard Plan. Whatever you need above that, times 12 and times 20 to 25 years, is roughly what your own savings must cover.
For basic needs it can be. The Basic Retirement Sum of S$110,200 pays about S$950 a month, which CPF Board pitches at basic living costs other than rent. Most people who want to travel or help family will need savings on top, built through top-ups, SRS or their own investments.
A CPF top-up gives you a 4% floor and a payout for life, with up to S$8,000 of relief, but the money stays locked in. SRS lets you choose the investments and leaves a way out before retirement, at a price. At an 11.5% tax rate or above, using both gives up to S$23,300 of relief a year.
With your first full-time job, once you have an emergency fund. CPF contributions start on their own. At an assumed 5% a year, S$500 a month from 30 grows to about S$568,000 by 65, nearly twice what the same amount reaches if you start at 40.
There is no penalty. CPF sets aside what you have in your Retirement Account and sizes your payouts to it, and you can keep working and topping up. If you have under S$60,000 when payouts start, you are not automatically in CPF LIFE and payouts end when the money runs out, though you can join from 65.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).