What are the differences for topping up SRS vs SA?

It's more on which one that suits you best.

Topping SA now and say "see you again" when you are at the retirement age. Interest rate is following the declared rates by Gov (it may change depending on the situation)

Topping SRS now and you can still withdraw one day with a penalty of 5% and additional tax on the year you withdraw. Interest rate? 0.05 but you can use for investment through robo advisors or any other available sources like fsm etc.

It is Different at every level:

Top Up:

• SRS top up limit is $15,300 and you do get a tax relief for the full amount

• SA- I believe you can top up whatever amount you want but you will get a tax relief for only the first $7000 (self)

Investment:

• you can invest your SRS money via various means into various types of investments.

-For SA, you need to keep at least 40K in cash but can invest the rest. There are limitations to what you can invest into though. Usually you will be allowed to invest only in safer investments.

Interest:

• default interest rate for SRS is 0.05%
• interest rate for SA is 4%

Withdrawal:
As we all know SA money once gone is gone and you can only start to withdraw after the retirement age.

For SRS, you can withdraw whenever you want. However, you will be subject to 5% penalty and the amount deducted will be added into your income tax return for that year. Beyond the retirement age, you can withdraw up to 40K tax free on an annual basis.

There are obviously edge cases to this and special scenarios (think terminal illness, medical grounds, bankruptcy etc)

Hope this helps!

I personally do top up SA (7K) and top up SRS as well. However, there is no point topping up SRS in the long run if you don’t invest that amount. So remember to invest :)