By MoneyBees
Model your SRS tax savings this year, then see the long-run difference between leaving it as idle cash and investing it through a diversified managed portfolio — plus the tax cost when you withdraw.
S$15,300 per year for Singapore Citizens and PRs, and S$35,700 per year for foreigners. Foreigners get a higher cap because they don't have CPF. Contributions must be received by your SRS operator by 31 December to count for that year's tax relief.
Exactly: contribution × your marginal tax rate. SRS reduces your chargeable income dollar-for-dollar, so the saving is your marginal bracket on each dollar contributed. A S$15,300 top-up at the 22% marginal band saves roughly S$3,366 in tax that year. The calculator computes the exact figure using the full IRAS YA2024 bracket table.
Because the default SRS bank account pays around 0.05% per year — basically nothing. The tax relief still applies, but the money locked up does no work. Inside SRS you can hold cash, T-bills, fixed deposits, Singapore Government Securities, ETFs, unit trusts, or a diversified managed portfolio. Long-term, a balanced equity/bond portfolio has historically returned around 5–7% p.a. — that compounding is where the real wealth comes from.
100% of the withdrawal is taxable in the year you take it out, AND there's a 5% penalty on the gross amount. The combined hit usually erases the tax relief you originally got. Treat SRS as money you've locked away until 63 — only contribute what you genuinely won't need before then.
From the statutory retirement age (currently 63 for anyone who joined SRS from 1 July 2022), you can withdraw over a maximum of 10 years and only 50% of each year's withdrawal is added to your taxable income. If you have little other income at that age, your effective tax on SRS withdrawals can be near zero — that's the second tax break.
Yes. IRAS caps total personal income tax reliefs at S$80,000 per year (counting CPF, NSman, parent, course fees, life insurance, SRS, and everything else combined). If you're already close to that cap from CPF and other reliefs, an additional SRS contribution may give little or no extra tax benefit — the calculator's tax-saved figure will reflect this for your specific numbers.
SRS accounts are provided by three operators: DBS, OCBC, and UOB. You can only hold one SRS account at a time but you can transfer between operators. Once open, you can invest the funds in a wide range of instruments — speak to a financial planner about what fits your risk tolerance and horizon.
Any Singapore Citizen, PR or foreigner aged 18 or above who is not an undischarged bankrupt and does not already hold an SRS account. You can hold only one SRS account at a time. Open it with DBS, OCBC or UOB.
The penalty-free withdrawal age tracks the prevailing statutory retirement age at the time of your first contribution, and is locked in for life. It is 63 today and rises to 64 for first contributions made from 1 July 2026 — so making a contribution before then locks in age 63 for you.
Withdrawals on medical grounds or terminal illness, and the balance on death, get the 50% tax concession with no 5% penalty (on death the balance is deemed withdrawn and passes to your beneficiaries). Verify the exact conditions with IRAS, as medical-grounds rules are specific.
Both give dollar-for-dollar relief within the same S$80,000 cap. A CPF RSTU top-up is locked to retirement-sum rules but earns 4%+ guaranteed; SRS is more flexible — you choose the investments and spread withdrawals over 10 years with 50% taxed — but only earns about 0.05% if you leave it as idle cash.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).