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L H

22 Nov 2019

āˆ™

Retirement

Does anyone have experience using the Supplementary Retirement Scheme for tax relief?

Thoughts on the Supplementary Retirement Scheme for tax relief? Just curious how many out there actively claim the tax relief?

Discussion (3)

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Elijah Lee

22 Nov 2019

Senior Financial Services Manager at Phillip Securities (Jurong East)

Hi LH,

SRS as a scheme was conceived to encourage Singaporeans to save more for retirement. To attract people to contribute, tax relief on SRS contributions was introduced.

My thoughts and the key things you need to take note are:

  • You can open an SRS account online with a local bank. Just put a dollar in. There's no need to go down to the branch
  • Contributing to your SRS will 'lock in' your future withdrawal age at the prevailing retirement age when you contribute (currently age 62). So just lock it in first, even if you don't intend to contribute
  • Contributions are voluntary, subject to a cap (Cap amount is depending on whether you are SC/PR or foreigner). Even if you have high income tax to pay, but you need the cash flow (e.g. due to family expenses), then it might be better not to contribute even though you won't be able to reduce your tax, as your cash is needed for day to day matters
  • Your SRS contribution will reduce your income tax as it confers tax relief. If you don't have any income tax or low income tax to pay, it may not be worth contributing. If you have a lot of reliefs (I see this often with working mothers), it may also not be worth contributing too. Generally, I'd recommend looking at SRS if you are in the 7% bracket, and definitely contribute if you are in the 11.5% bracket.
  • Your SRS monies can be used to invest (please don't leave it lying in the bank) in various asset classes, and you will need to know the pros and cons of each asset class to see what suits you, along with how this ties into your overall retirement planning.
  • Your SRS can be withdrawn prematurely but with a penalty, unless under exceptional circumstances. Foreigners may withdraw if they leave Singapore for at least 10 years.
  • After you reach retirement age, your first withdrawal will trigger a 10 year withdrawal period whereby you should withdrawal your SRS holdings by the end of this 10 year period
  • Half of your withdrawal is considered your income stream (still subjected to income tax calculations). If you don't withdraw, you can keep your assets in the SRS account.

A complete analysis of SRS and how it fits into your financial situation will be possible if you are able to provide more information, or if you sit down with an advisor to discuss. But those key points should provide you with some information to start. Due to practical limitations and to prevent this answer from turning into a novel, I can't elaborate on all the points above in writing.

To answer your second question on how many people actively claim the tax relief, I was able to find the number of SRS account holders at end Dec 2018 to be 156820, so I can hypothesize that the number will be around there. ( https://www.mof.gov.sg/docs/default-source/mof-... )

Incidentally I am conducting an SRS seminar in Dec, and you might want to drop by to hear more. I'll put the link in my profile soon.

You don't need to actively claim SRS relief as the SRS operator (bank) will do the necessary for you.

The question is whether you should contribute to your SRS in the first place. This depends on a variety of factors such as

  • Which tax bracket are you currently in? (If you earn $40k/yr, contributing a full $15,300 to SRS will save you a grand $456 (550-94) in tax. If however you earn $320k/yr, contributing a full $15,300 to SRS will save you $3,060 (44,550-41,490) in tax.)
  • What is your cashflow going to be like without the $15,300? Do note that once money goes into SRS, you can only take it out after 62yo. If you take it out before that, there is a penalty to pay. So it is best if this money is not something that you would need until you are about to retire or even longer.
  • Do you have a plan for the money in your SRS? Leaving money in your SRS without investing it is worse than putting it into a simple high savings bank account. Take note also that only certain types of investment are eligible for SRS accounts, so you will need to figure out where your SRS investments fit into your overall portfolio, along with your CPF, any CPF Investments you may have, etc.

Generally, it may be more worth the tax relief only from the perspectives of high income earners. But on the other hand, high income earners may be less tempted by the limited investment options that the SRS provides. It is a different beast from CPFIS since that is already money that I cannot touch, and just have to make the best of whatever investment options are available.

The other possibility is if you know you tend to spend money on hand and would like to somehow lock it away until retirement. But again, I think there are better plans for that...

Pang Zhe Liang

22 Nov 2019

Fee-Based Financial Advisory Manager at Financial Alliance Pte Ltd (IFA Firm)

The Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a good way for tax relief if and only if you are certai...

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