Why are SSB returns so bad right now? The December rates cant even beat inflation rate now.?

There's no such thing as "bad" for a short-term risk free fully liquid product. That's just how the market is.

If you want a higher return you have to take risk. There's no running away from that.

Review your investment portfolio and see if they still fit. If you want similar-ish risk, you can opt for longer term investment grade corporate bonds instead. Possibly get closer to 3-4+% returns.

We're in a low yield environment due to the loose monetary policy used by central banks to help their economies recover from the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. It has been a challenging 11 years and rates have not gone back to the levels they were previously at yet (I'm not sure if they ever will). The latest SSB yields 1.76%. It is your decision whether it's still worth investing in, but imagine, if you put your money in DBS Multiplier account, and credit your salary and charge 1 transaction to your DBS credit card monthly, you already get that sort of interest rates anyway. I'm looking for other investments, but at my own risk. SSBs are 'risk-free', but other investments may not be. There is another 'risk-free' high yielding account - CPF Special Account, but that locks you in until at least 55 years old, and there is policy risk. So all at your own risk... high risk, high return (stocks maybe).. high return low risk, but no liquidity (CPF)... low risk low return (SSBs).