When can I withdraw SRS? The age, the tax and the 5% penalty

Your cousin wants to pull his SRS money out for a wedding, and he can, any time he likes. The real question is what it costs him. Take it out at or after your withdrawal age and only half is taxed, with no penalty. Take it out before and all of it is taxed, plus a 5% penalty. Your withdrawal age is set by the date of your first SRS top-up: 64 if that was on or after 1 July 2026.

When can you withdraw SRS without a penalty?

From your withdrawal age onwards. IRAS calls it the prescribed retirement age. It's the statutory retirement age on the day you made your first SRS contribution, not the age in force when you take the money out.

The statutory retirement age went up to 64 on 1 July 2026. So your withdrawal age depends on when that first top-up went in.

Got an older account? Your age is whatever the retirement age was on the day of your first top-up. Your SRS bank can confirm the date and the age.

Your SRS withdrawal age, by the date of your first contribution
Your first SRS contribution	Your withdrawal age	What it means
On or after 1 July 2026	64	No penalty, 50% taxed, from your 64th birthday
While the retirement age was 63	63	No penalty, 50% taxed, from your 63rd birthday
Earlier than that	The retirement age on that day	Check your statement for the date

Why the date of your first top-up matters so much

Your withdrawal age is locked on the day of your first contribution. After that, nothing moves it.

Say the government raises the retirement age to 65 in a few years. IRAS says that change won't affect anyone who has already made a first SRS contribution. You keep the age you locked in.

That's why some people open an SRS account and put in a small amount early. It fixes the age before any future rise. Opening the account alone doesn't lock it, though. The contribution does.

Not sure if you've ever topped up? An account with a zero balance and no deposits hasn't locked anything yet. Our SRS account guide covers opening one and the yearly caps.

What happens when you withdraw at or after that age?

Two good things. First, there's no 5% penalty. Second, only 50% of each withdrawal counts as taxable income.

So if you take out $40,000, IRAS treats $20,000 of it as income. It's added to anything else you earn that year and taxed at your normal rates.

When is it taxed? The year after. Money taken out in 2027 shows up in your 2028 tax bill, and because your SRS bank reports the withdrawal to IRAS, you don't declare anything yourself.

You also may not have to sell everything first. Since 1 July 2015 you can withdraw in cash or, for qualifying withdrawal types, move the investments out as they are. Your SRS bank can tell you whether yours qualifies. Either way, the value withdrawn is what gets taxed.

How does the 10-year window work?

Once you reach your withdrawal age, you get 10 years to take your money out at the 50% rate, counted from the date of your first penalty-free withdrawal rather than your birthday.

IRAS gives an example. A member who makes the first penalty-free withdrawal on 1 April 2025 can spread withdrawals until 31 March 2035. Each year of the window runs from 1 April to 31 March.

What happens to money still in the account when the 10 years end? It's treated as withdrawn anyway. Your SRS bank reports half of the remaining balance to IRAS, and it's taxed the next year. That includes the value of any investments still sitting in the account.

You don't have to close the account then. You can leave the money where it is. But any returns after that point are taxed like any other investment, without the SRS concession.

There's one exception. A life annuity bought with SRS money doesn't follow the 10-year rule. Half of each annuity payment is taxed every year for as long as the payments run.

The clock starts with your first penalty-free withdrawal.
Each window year runs from the date of that first withdrawal.
Whatever's left after year 10 is treated as withdrawn, and half is taxed.
Life annuity payments are the exception: half of each payment is taxed, with no 10-year limit.

Quick maths: one lump sum, 10 yearly amounts, or early?

Let's put numbers on it. Say you have $400,000 in SRS and no other income in retirement. The figures below use IRAS's resident tax rates from YA 2024 onwards, before any reliefs or rebates.

Take it all in one year after your withdrawal age. Half of it, $200,000, is taxable. The tax on $200,000 is $21,150.

Spread it as $40,000 a year for 10 years. Each year $20,000 is taxable, and since the first $20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%, the tax is $0 every year. That's $400,000 out with no tax at all, which is exactly the case IRAS uses in its own example.

Now take the same $400,000 out before your withdrawal age, with no qualifying reason. All $400,000 is taxable. The tax on that is $62,150. Add the 5% penalty of $20,000 and you'd lose $82,150 of your $400,000.

What you lose on $400,000 of SRS, by how you take it out

What you lose on $400,000 of SRS, by how you take it out
How you take it out	Tax plus penalty
Spread over 10 years	0$
One lump sum at your age	21,150$
One lump sum, early	82,150$

Source: IRAS, Individual income tax rates, YA 2024 onwards

$400,000 from SRS, no other income (IRAS resident rates, YA 2024 onwards, before reliefs)
How you take it out	Taxable amount	Tax	5% penalty	You lose
$40,000 a year for 10 years, at or after your age	$20,000 a year	$0	$0	$0
$400,000 in one year, at or after your age	$200,000	$21,150	$0	$21,150
$400,000 in one year, before your age	$400,000	$62,150	$20,000	$82,150

What if you still have other income?

The $0 tax in that example needs a quiet year. If you still earn, the taxable half of your withdrawal stacks on top of your other income.

Say you work part-time and earn $30,000 a year, and you withdraw $40,000 from SRS. Your chargeable income jumps from $30,000 to $50,000. The tax? On IRAS's rates it goes from $200 to $1,250, so that one withdrawal costs you $1,050.

If the part-time income stops a year later, the same $40,000 taken out then could cost $0. Timing matters more than most people expect.

Want to try your own numbers? Our SRS withdrawal planner spreads a balance over the 10 years, and the income tax calculator shows what your other income does to the bill.

When should you make your first penalty-free withdrawal?

Your 10-year window starts the day you make your first penalty-free withdrawal. Even a small one starts the clock.

So if you take out $1,000 at 64 while you're still working full time, you've started the 10 years. By the time you retire, some of those cheap years have passed with a full salary on top.

Starting in the first year your other income drops gives the taxable half 10 low-income years to fall into.

There's no rule that you must start at 64. You can start later. Just remember the window always runs 10 years from your first penalty-free withdrawal, so starting late doesn't shorten it.

What happens if you withdraw SRS early?

You can always withdraw before your age. It's your money. But two things happen.

First, 100% of the withdrawal becomes taxable, not 50%. Second, your SRS bank deducts a 5% penalty. The penalty can't be refunded.

Take $10,000 out early. You lose $500 to the penalty straight away. Then the full $10,000 is added to your income for the year. If your income already sits well inside the 7% band, that's another $700 in tax. Altogether, $1,200 of your $10,000 is gone.

Bea gasps with both hands on her cheeks — Me, seeing $1,200 of my $10,000 disappear

Compare that with the same $10,000 at your withdrawal age. Only $5,000 is taxable and there's no penalty. Early access roughly doubles the taxable amount and adds 5% on top.

Is a top-up still worth it if you might need the money early?

SRS works by giving you tax relief now and taxing you later. Each dollar you put in lowers that year's taxable income. The cap is $15,300 a year for citizens and PRs and $35,700 for foreigners, and it all counts toward the $80,000 overall limit on personal income tax relief.

Say your chargeable income is $100,000 and you put in the full $15,300. All of that relief comes off your top tax band, which is 11.5% at that income. On IRAS's rates, your tax falls from $5,650 to $3,890.50. You save $1,759.50 that year.

Now say you need the money back the next year while you're still earning the same. The full $15,300 is added back to your income, so you pay about the same $1,759.50 in tax. Then the 5% penalty takes another $765. You end up $765 worse off than if you had never topped up.

Leave it until your withdrawal age with no other income, and the picture flips. Only $7,650 of that top-up is taxable, which sits inside the 0% band. The $1,759.50 you saved stays saved.

In this example, the relief only holds if the money stays in until your withdrawal age. An early withdrawal hands back the tax you saved and costs the 5% penalty on top. Our guide to investing SRS money covers what the money can do while it waits.

When can you withdraw early with no penalty?

IRAS waives the penalty in a few situations. How much is taxed depends on the reason. For a full withdrawal on terminal illness, or on death, up to $400,000 can be tax-free, less if withdrawals have already started.

Medical grounds means a physical or mental incapacity that stops you from working, or a terminal illness. You and a doctor registered under the Medical Registration Act then fill in IRAS's form for a penalty-free early withdrawal. Your SRS bank handles the forms for the other cases.

SRS withdrawals before your withdrawal age that skip the 5% penalty
Reason	How much is taxable	5% penalty?
Physical or mental incapacity that stops you working	50% of what you take out	No
Part of your balance, for a terminal illness	50% of what you take out	No
All of your balance, for a terminal illness	50%, less up to $400,000 tax-free	No
The member dies	50% of the balance, less up to $400,000 tax-free	No
Bankruptcy	100% of what you take out	No
A foreigner's one-time full withdrawal (conditions below)	50% of the lump sum	No

How do SRS withdrawals work for foreigners and PRs?

Foreigners and PRs follow the same age rules. Two things differ.

First, tax is held back at the moment you withdraw. Your SRS bank withholds tax at the non-resident rate of 24% on the taxable part and pays it to IRAS. The rate drops to 15% if your withdrawals that calendar year come to $200,000 or less and you have no other income that year. You claim that by declaring both on Form IR37B(1), which your SRS bank has. Singaporean account holders have no withholding tax.

Second, a foreigner can take everything out early with no penalty and only half taxed, if all three of these are true:

You're neither a citizen nor a PR on the day you withdraw, and haven't been for the 10 straight years before it.
You've had the SRS account for at least 10 years since your first contribution.
You take out the whole balance in one go.

Is the withheld tax your final bill?

No. The withheld amount is a credit against the tax you actually owe. If you're a tax resident, that's worked out on the normal resident rates. If you're a non-resident, it's 15% or the resident rates, whichever is higher.

IRAS's own example: a foreigner withdraws $300,000 after their withdrawal age. Half, $150,000, is taxable, and $36,000 is withheld at 24%. If their actual rate works out to 15%, the tax is $22,500, so IRAS refunds $13,500.

Leaving Singapore before your withdrawal age?

If you're a foreigner or PR who no longer lives and works here, IRAS taxes your withdrawal as a non-resident. Check which rate applies to you before you decide between waiting and taking the lump sum.

How do you make an SRS withdrawal?

Through the bank that runs your SRS account. That's DBS, OCBC or UOB, the same place you top up.

Most of the steps are the bank's own. You choose cash or, where your withdrawal type allows it, an in-kind transfer of your investments, and how much. For a medical or bankruptcy withdrawal there are IRAS forms to fill in first, and your bank tells you which.

Before you submit, check three things. Have you reached your withdrawal age? Is this your first penalty-free withdrawal, which starts the 10 years? And which tax year will it land in? A withdrawal at the end of December and one in early January fall in different tax years.

The MoneyBees take: what we'd check first

We'd find the date of our first SRS top-up before anything else. That one date decides the age, and the age decides whether half of a withdrawal counts as income or all of it, plus 5%.

Waiting trades cash now for a much smaller tax bill later: on $400,000, the gap between spreading it out and taking it early is $82,150. What settles it is whether you can let your other income stop before you make that first penalty-free withdrawal.

Frequently asked questions

When can I withdraw SRS?

Any time. It's penalty-free with just 50% taxed from your withdrawal age, or earlier in a few exceptional cases such as medical grounds. That age is the statutory retirement age on the day of your first SRS contribution: 64 if it was on or after 1 July 2026.

How do I withdraw SRS money?

Through the bank that holds your SRS account: DBS, OCBC or UOB. You can take cash or, for qualifying withdrawals, move your investments out as they are. The bank reports the withdrawal to IRAS, so you don't declare it.

What is the penalty for withdrawing SRS early?

A 5% penalty on the amount, and the whole withdrawal becomes taxable instead of half. On $10,000 that's $500 in penalty, plus tax on the full $10,000 at your rate.

Can I withdraw SRS before 64 without a penalty?

Yes, in a few cases. Medical grounds, a terminal illness, death, bankruptcy and a foreigner's one-time full withdrawal all skip the 5% penalty. If your first top-up was before 1 July 2026, your withdrawal age may be 63 or lower.

Do I have to withdraw all my SRS money within 10 years?

You have 10 years from your first penalty-free withdrawal. Anything left after that is treated as withdrawn, and half of it is taxed. Life annuity payments are the exception.

Is SRS withdrawal tax-free?

Half of each withdrawal at your withdrawal age is tax-free. The other half is taxable income, but if it stays within the first $20,000 of chargeable income, the tax on it is $0.

Sources

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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).