How Much Singaporean Is Saving?

Only one in three Singaporeans save more than 20% of monthly salary. The survey, which garnered a total of 2,278 responses, also revealed that only one in three respondents (33.7%) save more than 20% of their monthly salary. Out of those who save less than 20% of their monthly income, approximately half of them (33% of total respondents) indicated saving less than 10% of their monthly income.

Higher monthly salary does not equate to higher percentage of income saved. The survey results presented a relatively consistent trend amongst the respondents with regards to their approach towards monthly savings. Regardless of monthly income, most would set aside about 10% to 20% of their income as savings.

When comparing those who made less than $1,000 a month and those who made above $10,000, it was found that the majority of respondents (35.3%) who made less than $1,000 and the majority of respondents (34.1%) who made above $10,000 have both indicated that they set aside 10 to 20 percent of their monthly income every month. Based on this finding, it can be inferred that although there is a huge difference between the absolute amount saved by these two groups, the fundamental mindset on proportion of income to save does not differ with varied income.

On average, Singapore workers save about $677 to $1,296 per month. On the other hand, respondents with monthly income of $10,000 and above had the greatest deviation in terms of saving habits. This group of respondents would save an average of between $4,212 to $8,673 per month. This results in a ratio of 2.1, when the maximum average saving is taken as a ratio of the minimum average saving.

Moonlighting is not a common trend. 72.8% of the respondents indicated that they do not hold other sources of income, outside their primary jobs.

Of the respondents who said they do, these are the common  sources of additional income:

1. Dividends from stocks/bonds (37.5%)
2. Freelance projects (28.5%)
3. Part-time jobs (25.3%)

Most would save up the bulk of their bonus. With regard to the disbursement of their bonus, the majority of respondents (44.1%) replied that they would save the bulk of their bonus.

Survey results also revealed that only 9% would put the bulk of their bonus into investments. A much smaller survey population, consisting of 0.5% of the respondents, would donate a large part of their bonus to charity.

At least one in three respondents (33.7%) agreed that they would spend their bonus on recreation, which include going on holidays (19.4%) and shopping (14.3%).

Some interesting facts:

Market polls like the DBS-Manulife Retirement Wellness Study done in November 2015 showed that people living in Singapore start planning for their retirement at an average age of 38.

The surveys also showed that about four out of five people in Singapore are not fully aware of how much they will need to put aside.

Reference:
http://community.jobscentral.com.sg/articles/researchers-are-thriftiest-workers-singapore-jobscentral-survey
https://www.singsaver.com.sg/blog/how-much-savings-should-i-have-by-35-singapore
http://community.jobscentral.com.sg/articles/are-you-saver-or-spender-60-singapore-workers-save-less-one-fifth-income
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/is-it-possible-to-have-100k-by-30
http://www.todayonline.com/business/saving-retirement
http://www.jeraldinephneah.com/save-money-in-singapore/
http://sgforums.com/forums/2788/topics/273645