What Is an SRS Account? Singapore's Supplementary Retirement Scheme Explained

At the end of December 2025, 516,376 people held SRS accounts in Singapore, up from 466,849 a year earlier. Between them they had paid in S$23.88 billion over the life of the scheme. Most opened the account for the same reason: every dollar paid in reduces the following year's income tax, and the money can then be invested until retirement.

An SRS account is a Supplementary Retirement Scheme account, a voluntary retirement savings account that sits alongside CPF. You choose how much to put in each year, up to S$15,300 for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents and S$35,700 for foreigners, and the amount is deducted from your chargeable income for the following Year of Assessment if you are a tax resident.

The account itself is held at a bank. Only DBS/POSB, OCBC and UOB act as SRS operators, and the cash you pay in stays with that bank until you decide to invest it. Left alone, it earns very little: at DBS, uninvested SRS cash earns 0.05% a year.

That leaves three broad choices once the money is in. You can keep it as cash, buy the bank's own SRS products such as Singapore Savings Bonds, deposits and unit trusts, or send it to a broker or investment platform that accepts SRS funds. At the end of 2025, 21% of the SRS portfolio was still in cash.

This guide explains how an SRS account works from contribution to withdrawal, who can open one, the 2026 limits and tax relief, what idle cash earns, what SRS money can buy, how withdrawals are taxed, and the mistakes that cost first-time account holders the most.

SRS account at a glance

The rules on caps, relief and withdrawals are set by law, so they apply equally at all three operator banks.

Source: IRAS SRS contributions, IRAS tax on SRS withdrawals, DBS SRS, MOM retirement age (as of 3 November 2026)

How an SRS account works in three stages

Money in an SRS account passes through three stages, each with its own rules.

Stage 1: contribute. You transfer Singapore dollars from your own bank account into your SRS account. The operator bank records the contribution and reports it to IRAS, and the relief appears automatically in your next tax assessment.

Stage 2: invest (optional). You instruct the bank to release cash for an SRS-eligible investment, either through the bank itself or through a broker or platform linked to your SRS account. When you sell, the proceeds go back into the SRS account, and trades inside the scheme are untaxed.

Stage 3: withdraw. From your prescribed retirement age, you take money out of the scheme into your ordinary bank account, and half of each withdrawal is added to your taxable income for that year. Before that age, the whole amount is taxable and a penalty applies.

An SRS account moves money from contribution to investment to retirement withdrawal

Investment returns inside SRS accumulate tax-free until withdrawal. So the relief lowers tax on the way in, and gains compound without yearly tax while they stay in the scheme.

Who can open an SRS account in Singapore

You can open an SRS account if you are a Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident or foreigner, at least 18 years old, not an undischarged bankrupt, and without another SRS account. You may hold only one SRS account at any time, and holding accounts with more than one operator is an offence.

Tax relief, though, goes only to people who are tax residents for the Year of Assessment in question. Foreigners generally qualify if they stayed or worked in Singapore for at least 183 days in the previous calendar year, with some concessions for people whose employment straddles two or three calendar years.

Each bank runs its own application. DBS lets citizens, PRs and foreigners open an account instantly through digibank, OCBC customers can apply in the OCBC app, and UOB's online route through Myinfo typically takes 4 working days and is open to citizens and PRs only. Our step-by-step opening guide walks through each bank's screens, documents and timings.

SRS vs CPF vs a normal investment account

SRS and CPF are both retirement schemes, but they work differently. CPF is compulsory for most working citizens and PRs and pays set interest rates, while SRS is voluntary and pays almost nothing unless you invest it yourself.

Source: IRAS SRS contributions, CPF employee contributions, CPF interest rates, DBS SRS (as of 3 November 2026)

The biggest practical difference is flexibility. SRS money can always be withdrawn, at a cost, whereas most CPF savings cannot be touched before the scheme's ages and conditions are met. A cash brokerage account is the most liquid of the three but gives no tax relief.

SRS contribution limit and tax relief in 2026

The cap depends on your status on the day you contribute. Contributions can be made at any time, as often as you like, in cash, up to the cap, and must reach your SRS account by 31 December or your bank's earlier cut-off to count for the year.

Source: IRAS SRS contributions (as of 3 November 2026)

Foreigners need to file a yearly declaration with their bank to use the higher cap, and a foreigner who becomes a PR part-way through the year gets a pro-rated cap. If your employer pays into your SRS account, the amount counts as your taxable income and is also eligible for relief.

How much tax does a contribution save?

The saving is the tax you would have paid on the amount of the relief, worked out band by band. Say your chargeable income for 2026 is S$100,000 and you contribute the full S$15,300. Your chargeable income falls to S$84,700, and both figures sit in the 11.5% band of the resident tax rates.

Example only, based on IRAS individual income tax rates (as of 3 November 2026). Assumes a tax resident with room under the S$80,000 relief cap and no rebates.

Two limits can shrink that figure. All personal reliefs, SRS included, share an overall cap of S$80,000 per Year of Assessment. If you withdraw in the same year you contribute, relief applies only to the net amount. Our SRS tax savings calculator runs the same arithmetic across 12 income levels.

What an SRS account earns if you leave the money uninvested

Uninvested SRS money is a bank deposit, and it earns the bank's SRS rate. At 0.05% a year at DBS, a full S$15,300 contribution earns S$7.65 in a year, and a foreigner's S$35,700 earns S$17.85.

Inflation outpaces that rate. S$15,300 left at 0.05% for 10 years grows to about S$15,376.67, and if prices rise by 2% a year, that balance buys only what S$12,614.23 buys today.

Example only, based on the DBS SRS rate (as of 3 November 2026). Assumes the rate stays at 0.05% and inflation averages 2% a year.

SGD monies placed with a scheme member under SRS are covered by deposit insurance up to S$100,000 per depositor per bank. Our guide to SRS interest rates compares what idle SRS cash earns against T-bills, savings bonds, deposits and money market funds.

What you can invest in with SRS money

SRS money can buy shares, unit trusts, bonds, fixed deposits, ETFs and certain life insurance products, but not direct property or some insurance: SRS money cannot buy life policies above three times the single premium, or critical illness, health and long-term care products.

At the end of 2025, shares, REITs and ETFs made up 24% of the SRS portfolio, insurance 20% and unit trusts 11%, with another 23% in government securities, corporate bonds, foreign-currency deposits and fund management accounts.

Where SRS money can be invested

Each provider offers a different part of the eligible range. One SRS account can fund several of them at once, and the bank stays your operator throughout.

Source: Endowus, Syfe and moomoo SRS pages; StashAway ETF Explorer SRS page; DBS SRS, OCBC SRS account, UOB SRS account, AutoWealth SRS, POEMS SRS (as of 3 November 2026)

Of the platforms compared here, StashAway is the only one where SRS money can buy US-listed and UCITS ETFs directly; the brokers stick to SGX-listed securities and Endowus and Syfe reach global markets through unit trusts and index funds. At POEMS, for example, only securities listed on SGX are eligible for CPF and SRS investments.

The robo-advisor comparison sets StashAway, Endowus, Syfe and AutoWealth side by side on SRS fees and product access. The SGX guide covers buying shares, REITs and ETFs with SRS through POEMS, moomoo and the bank brokers, and the insurance guide explains how annuities and single-premium endowments are taxed inside SRS.

SRS withdrawal rules, retirement age and tax

Withdrawals are when the deferred tax falls due. The rules depend on your age at withdrawal compared with your prescribed retirement age, and on the reason for withdrawing.

Your prescribed retirement age

Your prescribed age is the statutory retirement age in force when you made your first SRS contribution. The statutory retirement age rose to 64 on 1 July 2026, so anyone making a first contribution from that date can withdraw without penalty from 64.

Source: IRAS tax on SRS withdrawals, MOM retirement age (as of 3 November 2026)

Your first contribution fixes the age, whenever you opened the account, and a later rise in the statutory retirement age leaves an age already locked in unchanged.

The date of your first SRS contribution fixes the age you can withdraw without penalty

50% taxable over a 10-year window

From your prescribed age, only 50% of each withdrawal is taxable, and you can spread withdrawals over 10 years from the first penalty-free one. Withdrawing S$40,000 a year adds S$20,000 to your taxable income. If that is your only income, it falls entirely in the 0% band, so S$400,000 can come out over 10 years with no tax.

Whatever remains at the end of the 10-year window is treated as withdrawn, and 50% of it is taxed. Qualifying life annuities bought with SRS money are the exception: 50% of each annuity payment is taxed in the year it is paid, however long the payments last. Our SRS insurance guide covers how annuities and endowments fit the rules.

Early withdrawals cost tax and a penalty

Before your prescribed age, a withdrawal is 100% taxable and attracts a 5% penalty. For a tax resident with no other income, taking out S$40,000 early means S$550 of tax and a S$2,000 penalty, compared with nothing at all if the same S$40,000 came out after your prescribed age.

The same S$40,000 SRS withdrawal costs S$2,550 if taken early and S$0 after the prescribed age

A few cases escape the penalty: withdrawals on medical grounds, on death, on bankruptcy, and a one-time full withdrawal by a foreigner who has held the account for at least 10 years and has not been a citizen or PR for the preceding 10 years. Foreigners and PRs also face withholding tax of 24% on the taxable portion, or 15% under a concession for smaller withdrawals with no other income. Our guide for foreigners and PRs works through those scenarios.

How to open, fund and invest through an SRS account

Getting started takes three steps.

Open the account with one bank. DBS/POSB, OCBC and UOB all accept online applications for citizens and PRs, and DBS also accepts foreigners online. You need your NRIC or passport, and foreigners need a valid pass.

Contribute before the year-end cut-off. For relief in YA 2027, the money must reach your SRS account by your bank's cut-off on 31 December 2026: 7pm through DBS digibank, 11:59pm on the last business day at OCBC and 7pm through UOB TMRW.

Link an investment provider. Give the broker or platform your SRS account number and authorise your bank to release funds for each purchase. Proceeds from sales return to the same SRS account.

Money that reaches your SRS account by the cut-off qualifies for relief even if you invest it in January. Our top-up guide covers each bank's contribution screens and year-end timings.

Is an SRS account worth opening?

An SRS account pays off when three things line up: a meaningful tax saving now, a long enough gap before you need the money, and a lower tax rate when you withdraw.

Source: IRAS individual income tax rates, IRAS SRS contributions, IRAS tax on SRS withdrawals (as of 3 November 2026)

SRS cash is easy to reach but expensive to take out early, so money you may need for a home, a child's education or an emergency before your mid-60s usually belongs outside the scheme.

Common mistakes with SRS accounts

Most costly SRS mistakes come down to timing, or to treating the account as an investment in itself.

Leaving contributions as cash for years. At 0.05% a year, idle money loses purchasing power to inflation, and 21% of all SRS money was still in cash at the end of 2025.

Thinking the account opening fixes your retirement age. Only the first contribution does, and from 1 July 2026 a first contribution locks in 64.

Contributing on 31 December after the cut-off. DBS and UOB online contributions close at 7pm, and late money counts for the next year.

Assuming any broker can buy any ETF with SRS. Most brokers limit SRS trades to SGX-listed securities.

Confusing a sale with a withdrawal. Selling an SRS investment returns cash to the SRS account; a withdrawal moves money out of the scheme and is taxed.

Opening a second account at another bank. Only one SRS account is allowed at a time, and a change of bank goes through a transfer.

Contributing with no room under the S$80,000 relief cap. Contributions that produce no relief cannot be refunded.

Invest your SRS with StashAway

Once your SRS account is open with DBS, OCBC or UOB, you can link it to StashAway and invest the money instead of leaving it as cash. StashAway can then request SRS funds from your bank on a schedule you set.

Choose your own US-listed and UCITS ETFs with ETF Explorer with SRS for US$1 per buy or sell order and no monthly fee, or hand the decisions to a managed portfolio such as General Investing or Income Investing, for 0.2% to 0.8% a year depending on your balance.

Investment values rise and fall, so you could get back less than you put in.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what first-time SRS account holders ask most.

What does SRS stand for?

SRS stands for Supplementary Retirement Scheme, a voluntary government scheme that complements CPF, with tax relief on contributions and tax on only half of withdrawals made from your prescribed retirement age.

Is SRS the same as CPF?

No. CPF is compulsory for most working citizens and PRs and pays set interest rates on its accounts. SRS is voluntary, open to foreigners too, and pays only about 0.05% a year on cash unless you invest it.

Can foreigners open an SRS account?

Yes, foreigners aged 18 and above can open one and contribute up to S$35,700 a year after a yearly declaration to their bank. Relief depends on being a tax resident for the Year of Assessment, and withdrawals by foreigners are subject to withholding tax.

Can I have SRS accounts at two banks?

Only one SRS account is allowed at any time, and holding accounts with more than one operator is an offence. To change banks, you transfer the existing account through the new operator.

Is my SRS money guaranteed?

Cash in your SRS account is a Singapore-dollar deposit covered by deposit insurance up to S$100,000 per depositor per bank. Once you invest it, the value depends on the product you buy.

Can I use StashAway with an SRS account at DBS?

Yes. StashAway works with SRS accounts at DBS, OCBC and UOB, and the bank remains your operator. You link the account when you create an SRS-funded portfolio, and sale proceeds go back to the same SRS account.

Should I contribute S$1 just to lock in my retirement age?

A small first contribution fixes your prescribed age at the statutory retirement age on that date, which has been 64 since 1 July 2026. That helps if you plan to contribute properly in later years and expect the statutory age to rise again before then. The S$1 itself saves almost no tax.