SRS tax savings calculator

The rules nobody mentions

• Withdraw before your locked age: 5% penalty + the amount becomes fully taxable that year. This is the real lock-in cost.
• At your locked age+: withdraw over up to 10 years; only 50% of each withdrawal is taxable — for most retirees, effectively zero tax.
• The balance assumes you contribute every year until your locked withdrawal age, and interest compounds on the whole balance each year — last year's growth earns interest too. The reconciliation line under the bars shows exactly how each figure is built.
• All personal income tax reliefs (CPF top-ups, SRS, donations, etc.) share an S$80,000/year cap — if you already claim big reliefs, SRS savings may be less.
• “Left as cash” means leaving SRS money uninvested, earning the default 0.05%/yr — you keep contributions but inflation eats them.
• SRS is only worth it if (a) your marginal rate is ≥7% and (b) you actually invest the money. Cash at 0.05% loses to inflation.