SRS - should I?

[fifa]

I've started trying to do something with my money instead of letting it sit in my bank account and earning pitiful interest.... Have only started to earn "real" money since starting to work in SG, previously I had jobs which didn't pay all that much but put me in much more interesting places ;^)

Juswondering if there are any eligible expats here who've taken advantage of the SRS scheme. Since I don't have any long-term plans to stay in Singapore, I'm not sure if I want to lock any monies here that I can only take out when I reach retirement age.

What about insurance? My colleagues are shocked that aside from what the companies provide, I have none. I only have additional health insurance policies, but no life/term-life whatevers. Agn, my thought is that I don't want to put monies in a scheme that matures in a c'try I don't plan to stay in. Not that I know where I want to settle in eventually!

Thoughts?

[expat1]

As you probably know, if you put your $ in SRS, it is locked in the account for 10yrs.  If you want to get it out sooner, you will pay fees and taxes effectively negating any potential earnings you may have had.

IMO, SRS is good if you have extra monthly income, want to reduce (slightly) your tax burden, and are willing to leave the $ there for >= 10 years.  Why not just invest it in a mutual fund.

As for life insurance, unless you are married and your wife will need the $ if you die, or if you have kids <21, why bother with life insurance.  Only an insurance salesman, who gets a huge commission, believes it to be a good investment.

[fifa]

That's what I thought about the life insurance thing.... especially after reading up a little too. I guess I got a little freaked out by my local colleagues who seem to have more insurance policies than I have dust-bunnies under the bed. When I said all the insurance I had was the company life/accident insurance, they looked at me like I had sprouted an extra head!! Just wanted to see what others thought.

As for SRS, the main reason it crossed my mind is because of the tax-relief. My salary has gone up considerably this year (better job, that's all), so I'm not looking forward to the tax bill next year! The main plan is to put the monies in some investment options -- for some reason I thought SRS monies just sat there, but now that you've mentioned it, I see that I can actually invest my SRS. Hmm... still have time to dump some money in SRS.

[Biker Boy]

I don't have insurance either (except for the bikes!).  The company covers medical even when I'm travelling.

I started SRS about two odd years ago, just after it started, mainly to offset tax when we were getting large bonuses.  Those days have gone, but I am quite happy to have the $$ sitting in unit trusts there for a few years, even if I leave.