Singapore Retirement Calculator: How Much Do You Need?

Why Retirement Planning Matters More in Singapore

Singapore has one of the highest costs of living in Asia, a strong dollar, and a rapidly ageing population. The government has built CPF as the backbone of retirement funding, but for most Singaporeans, CPF alone is unlikely to be sufficient for a comfortable retirement — especially with rising healthcare costs and longer life expectancies.

The average Singaporean life expectancy is now 85 years for women and 81 years for men. If you retire at 65, you need to fund 15–20 years of expenses.

Step 1: Estimate Your Monthly Retirement Expenses

Start by projecting what you'll spend each month in retirement. A common rule of thumb is 70–80% of your current monthly expenses, since you'll have no work-related costs, no mortgage (hopefully), and children may be independent.

Sample monthly retirement budget (modest lifestyle):

For a comfortable lifestyle, budget S$3,500–S$5,000/month.

Step 2: Calculate Your Retirement Number

Use the 25x rule (based on a 4% safe withdrawal rate):

Retirement Number = Annual Expenses × 25

For S$2,500/month:

• Annual expenses: S$30,000
• Retirement number: S$750,000

This means you need S$750,000 in investable assets to sustain S$2,500/month indefinitely, assuming a 4% annual return on your portfolio.

Step 3: Account for CPF LIFE Payouts

CPF LIFE provides monthly payouts for life starting from age 65 (or as early as 63). The payout amount depends on your Retirement Account (RA) balance.

Under the Full Retirement Sum (FRS) for 2025 (S$213,000), monthly payouts are approximately:

• CPF LIFE Standard Plan: ~S$1,600–S$1,700/month
• CPF LIFE Basic Plan: ~S$1,400–S$1,500/month (with larger bequest)

If CPF LIFE pays S$1,600/month and you need S$2,500/month, you need to fund only the S$900 gap from your own savings.

Revised retirement number for the gap:

• S$900/month gap × 12 × 25 = S$270,000

This is far more achievable than S$750,000.

Step 4: Factor in Your Investment Growth

If you're still working, your savings will grow over time. Use the compound growth formula:

Future Value = PV × (1 + r)^n + PMT × [((1+r)^n – 1) / r]

Where:

• PV = current savings
• r = annual return rate
• n = years to retirement
• PMT = annual savings contribution

Example: Age 35, S$100,000 saved, adding S$24,000/year, targeting retirement at 65 at 5% annual return:

• Future value ≈ S$2.1 million

Step 5: Don't Forget Inflation

At 2.5% annual inflation, S$2,500/month today will require about S$3,600/month in 15 years. Adjust your retirement number upward by the inflation factor.

Common Retirement Gaps in Singapore

Use the Calculator

Our Retirement Savings Calculator lets you input your age, current savings, monthly contributions, and expected return to instantly see if you're on track. Also try the CPF LIFE Payout Estimator to model your guaranteed monthly income from CPF, and the SRS Calculator to see how Supplementary Retirement Scheme top-ups reduce your tax bill.