The Supplementary Retirement Scheme is Singapore's voluntary counterpart to CPF. Where CPF is compulsory and capped, SRS is optional and lets a taxpayer put aside more income tax-free, up to a limit that depends on residency. The catch is that the money is taxed on the way out, not on the way in — but at a concessionary rate that makes the scheme worthwhile for anyone paying more than about 15% marginal tax today.
What you enter
The calculator takes the annual contribution, the taxpayer's marginal income tax rate, and the years until withdrawal. It reports the tax saved at contribution, the tax payable on withdrawal at the 50% inclusion rate, and the net benefit. The contribution limit is S$15,300 for citizens and permanent residents and S$35,700 for foreigners.
How the tax benefit works
A contribution is deducted from chargeable income in the year it is made, so the immediate saving is the contribution multiplied by the marginal rate. On withdrawal, only 50% of the amount is added to taxable income, and withdrawals can be spread over ten years from the statutory retirement age to keep each year's inclusion small. A taxpayer at a 22% marginal rate who contributes S$15,300 saves S$3,366 in the contribution year; if the withdrawal is spread so that the included half falls in a low bracket, the tax on the way out can be close to zero.
A worked example
Take a 40-year-old citizen contributing S$15,300 a year at a 22% marginal rate. The annual tax saving is S$3,366. After twenty years of contributions the account holds S$306,000 before investment returns. Withdrawn over ten years from age 62, S$30,600 is withdrawn each year and S$15,300 is included in taxable income — which, for a retiree with little other income, may fall entirely within the zero-rate band. The scheme converts a 22% deduction into a near-zero withdrawal tax.
Assumptions and references
Rule year 2024. Contribution limits are S$15,300 for citizens and PRs and S$35,700 for foreigners. The 50% inclusion rate and the ten-year withdrawal window from the statutory retirement age are applied. Investment returns, the penalty for early withdrawal, and the interaction with the CPF top-up relief cap are not modelled. Source: Ministry of Finance, Supplementary Retirement Scheme.