How to invest in ETFs using SRS

Purchase our ETF through a brokerage firm
Provide your SRS account number to your brokerage firm to deduct funds for the investment

About SRS

Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a voluntary savings scheme to encourage individuals to save for retirement while reducing taxable income.

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Savings sitting idle in an SRS account only receive 0.05% per annum - that's just 50 cents per $1000. By investing your SRS savings in our ETFs, investors can make their money work harder and potentially make better returns. Please note that capital is non-guaranteed and the value of investment in our ETFs may fall or rise.

The SRS offers attractive tax benefits. Contributions to SRS are eligible for tax relief. Investment returns are accumulated tax-free and only 50% of the withdrawals from SRS are taxable from statutory retirement age onwards. Withdrawals may be spread over a period of up to 10 years to meet financial needs. Spreading out withdrawals will generally result in greater tax savings. With careful planning, a retiree who is likely to have a low marginal tax rate, may end up paying little or no tax on his SRS withdrawals.

Please note: SRS contributions are subject to a cap on personal income tax relief of $80,000 per Year of Assessment. As SRS contributions made cannot be refunded, SRS members who make SRS contributions should evaluate whether they would benefit from tax relief on their SRS contributions, and make an informed decision accordingly. Any withdrawal from a SRS account before statutory retirement age will be subject to tax for the entire sum withdrawn, and a 5% penalty will also be imposed unless in exceptional circumstances such as death or on medical grounds.

There are other applicable terms & conditions. To learn more about SRS, visit:

Source: Websites of DBS, OCBC, UOB

FAQs

What is Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS)?
  • Part of the Singapore government’s multi-pronged strategy to help Singaporeans save more for retirement.
  • Began in 2001 and is operated by the private sector. (DBS, OCBC, UOB)
  • Participation in SRS is voluntary
  • SRS members can contribute a varying amount to SRS (subject to a cap) at their own discretion
  • The contributions may be used to purchase various investment instruments.
What are the benefits of Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS)?
  • SRS helps you save on tax

A reduction in your final tax payable by getting a dollar-for-dollar tax relief on your SRS contributions which reduces your chargeable income.

  • Only 50% of the withdrawals from SRS are taxable upon penalty-free withdrawal

If you start withdrawing your SRS funds at the statutory retirement age that was prevailing as at your first SRS contribution, you can get tax relief by only having to pay taxes on 50% of your withdrawals for the next 10 years.

Are there any limitations for Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS)?
  • Annual SRS contribution limit

There’s a maximum of how much you can contribute to your SRS account each year. 

Latest SRS Caps as of 2023

Account Holder

Maximum yearly contribution

Singapore citizens/PRs

S$15,300

Foreigners

S$35,700

  • Personal income tax relief cap

There is a cap of $80,000 for total personal income tax relief, including SRS contributions and anything else that entitles you to tax relief such as Working Mother’s Child Relief and donations.

* Source: https://www.mof.gov.sg/schemes/individuals/supplementary-retirement-scheme

What can you invest in?

There is a wide range of SRS-approved instruments available to choose from including:

  • Bonds
  • ETFs
  • Fixed Deposits
  • Single Premium Insurance
  • Singapore Government Securities / Singapore Savings Bonds
  • Stocks
  • Unit Trusts
Why you can consider investing your SRS through ETFs?
  • All ETFs are eligible, granting investors a wide variety of choices - SRS Monies can be used to purchase any ETFs listed on SGX. Investors can gain access to all 71 ETFs (as of Mar 2024) on SGX. These include ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund, Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, NikkoAM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF etc.
  • Diversification - ETFs offer instant diversification across the entire underlying index that it tracks.
  • Transparency and tradability - ETFs can be bought and sold anytime during the trading day, with prices (not including trading costs) reflecting real-time market conditions
  • Low expenses - Unlike actively managed Unit Trusts that may have higher upfront sales fees and higher management fees, passively managed ETFs have generally lower fees with brokerage fees ranging from 0.12% to 0.28%, and management fees typically below 1% p.a.

The links will bring you to a third-party website.

Important Information

The funds mentioned are Singapore registered funds approved for sale or purchase in Singapore. By proceeding, you are representing and warranting that you are either resident in Singapore or the applicable laws and regulations of your jurisdiction allow you to access the information.

The information on this website is not intended to be an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any product or service to any person in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction.

This website may contain links to the website of certain overseas affiliates of Nikko Asset Management Asia Limited (“Nikko AM Asia”). However, providing such links should not be considered as offering or solicitation by Nikko AM Asia of any product or service of its affiliates to any person.

This website is purely for informational purposes only with no consideration given to the specific investment objective, financial situation and particular needs of any specific person. It should not be relied upon as financial advice. The mention of individual securities, sectors, regions or countries within this website are for illustration purposes only and does not imply a recommendation to buy or sell. You should seek advice from a financial adviser before making any investment. In the event that you choose not to do so, you should consider whether the investment selected is suitable for you. Investments in funds are not deposits in, obligations of, or guaranteed or insured by Nikko AM Asia.

Past performance or any prediction, projection or forecast is not indicative of future performance. The Funds or any underlying funds may use or invest in financial derivative instruments. The value of units and income from them may fall or rise. Investments in the Funds are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of principal amount invested. You should read the relevant prospectus (including the risk warnings) and product highlights sheet of the Funds, which are available and may be obtained from appointed distributors of Nikko AM Asia or our website (www.nikkoam.com.sg) before deciding whether to invest in the Funds.

The information contained herein may not be copied, reproduced or redistributed without the express consent of Nikko AM Asia. While reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information as at the date of publication, Nikko AM Asia does not give any warranty or representation, either express or implied, and expressly disclaims liability for any errors or omissions. Information may be subject to change without notice. Nikko AM Asia accepts no liability for any loss, indirect or consequential damages, arising from any use of or reliance on this website. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The performance of the ETF’s price on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”) may be different from the net asset value per unit of the ETF. The ETF may also be suspended or delisted from the SGX-ST.   Listing of the units does not guarantee a liquid market for the units. Investors should note that the ETF differs from a typical unit trust and units may only be created or redeemed directly by a participating dealer in large creation or redemption units.

The Central Provident Fund (“CPF”) Ordinary Account (“OA”) interest rate is the legislated minimum 2.5% per annum, or the 3-month average of major local banks' interest rates, whichever is higher, reviewed quarterly. The interest rate for Special Account (“SA”) is currently 4% per annum or the 12-month average yield of 10-year Singapore Government Securities plus 1%, whichever is higher, reviewed quarterly. Only monies in excess of $20,000 in OA and $40,000 in SA can be invested under the CPF Investment Scheme (“CPFIS”). Please refer to the website of the CPF Board for further information. Investors should note that the applicable interest rates for the CPF accounts and the terms of CPFIS may be varied by the CPF Board from time to time.

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