Life Insurance Need Calculator Singapore (2026)

DIME stands for Debt + Income replacement + Mortgage + Education. It is a globally-used quick estimation method for life insurance needs, and MAS-licensed financial advisers in Singapore commonly use it as a starting point. The formula sums (a) outstanding non-mortgage debts, (b) annual income × years of family support needed, (c) outstanding mortgage balance, and (d) children's future education costs. The total is the gross insurance need. Subtract existing cover (including CPF Dependents' Protection Scheme) to find the gap. DIME is a rule of thumb, not a precise figure — consult a FAIR-licensed adviser for a comprehensive Needs Analysis.

CPF Dependents' Protection Scheme (DPS) is an opt-out term life insurance scheme that automatically covers Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents aged 21 to 65 who have made any CPF working contribution. The maximum cover is S$70,000 (increased from S$46,000 in 2021). Premiums are deducted from your CPF Ordinary Account or MediSave Account annually. DPS pays out for death, terminal illness, or total permanent disability. Most Singapore working adults have S$70,000 of DPS cover automatically — this calculator defaults to that amount under existing cover. Check CPF.gov.sg to confirm your enrolment status.

This calculator uses S$100,000 per child as a conservative national-university-track estimate, covering pre-tertiary tuition top-ups, enrichment, JC books, and a 4-year local university degree (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD) at current fees of ~S$8,000-$10,000 per year for SC. For overseas university (UK/Australia/US), budget S$200,000-$400,000 per child. For private school or international school routes from primary onwards, budget S$300,000-$600,000+. Adjust the children count and re-run if your children are on different tracks. CPF Education Loan can defer rather than eliminate this cost.

Yes, if both spouses earn similar incomes and either could continue working after the other's death, you only need to replace your share of household expenses, not the full income. A common approach: each spouse calculates DIME independently using their own income but only half the joint mortgage and half the children's education. For single-earner households where the homemaker spouse would need to retrain or return to work, replace the full earner income for at least 5 years plus add S$50,000-100,000 for retraining and childcare. This calculator uses the simpler single-input version; iterate manually for spouse adjustments.

CPF balances are not insurance — they are retirement savings. However, on death, your CPF balances are paid to your nominated beneficiaries under CPF Nomination, so they reduce the cash gap your family faces. Many advisers count CPF balances under "existing assets" rather than "existing insurance cover" in a full needs analysis. For simplicity, this calculator only counts DPS and term/whole life policies under existing cover. If you want to include CPF, add your total CPF balance to the existing cover field — but be aware that CPF in Ordinary Account is meant for housing/retirement, not living expenses for survivors.

Term life is dramatically cheaper for the same death benefit — typically 5-10x cheaper than whole life. A 35-year-old non-smoker can get S$1m of 25-year term cover from Singlife, Manulife, AIA, FWD, Etiqa, or Tokio Marine for S$50-$120 per month. The same S$1m of whole life would cost S$600-1,500 per month. Term is pure protection; whole life has a savings/investment component (cash value) that tends to underperform a separate term-plus-invest strategy. The standard MAS-aligned advice: "Buy term, invest the difference." Whole life makes sense only for narrow estate-planning use cases — speak to a FAIR-licensed adviser.

Match the term to your longest financial commitment. For most Singapore parents, that is the longer of (a) years until your youngest child is financially independent (~22-25 years from birth), or (b) years until your mortgage is fully paid (typically 25-30 years for a 35-year-old buyer). Choose a 25 or 30 year term. Once kids are independent and the mortgage is settled, the need drops sharply and most advisers recommend stepping down or dropping cover rather than buying new whole life. Re-run this calculator every 3-5 years as your situation evolves.

You can buy term life directly from insurers (Singlife, Manulife, AIA, FWD, Etiqa, Tokio Marine, China Life, Great Eastern), through MAS-licensed Financial Advisers, through banks (DBS Insurance, OCBC Bancassurance, UOB Insurance), or via online aggregators (compareFIRST is the MAS-run comparison tool — moneysense.gov.sg/articles/2018/11/comparefirst). compareFIRST is free, neutral, and shows premium quotes side-by-side. For more complex needs (whole life, ILP, critical illness riders), consult a FAIR-licensed adviser. Always check that the adviser is on the MAS Public Register (eservices.mas.gov.sg).