Enter savings you want this projection to include. CPF balances should only be included if you intentionally want to model them using your own assumed return.
Planning assumption only, not a guaranteed return. CPF accounts follow separate official interest rules.
This finite-horizon estimate is separate from CPF LIFE, which is designed to provide lifelong monthly payouts.
Disclaimer: Planning estimate only, not financial advice. Investment returns, inflation and retirement needs are uncertain. CPF LIFE payouts and CPF balances are not calculated by this tool; use CPF Board’s official tools for personalised CPF projections.
What Is a Retirement Calculator Singapore?
A Retirement Calculator Singapore compares the savings you may have at retirement with a simple estimate of the amount needed to fund your desired spending.
The calculator projects your current savings and monthly contributions until your planned retirement age. It then adjusts your desired monthly spending for inflation and multiplies it by the number of retirement years entered.
The results show:
- Projected fund at retirement
- Simple retirement spending target
- Estimated gap or surplus
This is a planning estimate. It does not guarantee that your savings will last or calculate official CPF retirement payouts.
How to Use the Calculator
Complete all fields using realistic assumptions.
Current Age
Enter your age today.
The calculator uses this with your planned retirement age to determine how many years remain for your savings to grow.
Planned Retirement Age
Enter the age when you plan to stop making monthly contributions and start using the retirement fund.
This is your personal planning age. It is not a statement about Singapore’s statutory retirement age or your CPF payout-start age.
Current Retirement Savings
Enter the savings you want to include in the projection.
This may include cash or investments that you have intentionally set aside for retirement.
If you want to model a fixed deposit separately, use the Fixed Deposit Calculator Singapore based on the product’s principal, rate and term.
Do not include CPF balances unless you deliberately want to model them using your own assumed return. CPF accounts follow separate official interest and payout rules.
Monthly Contribution Until Retirement
Enter the amount you expect to add at the end of every month until your planned retirement age.
The estimate assumes you make every contribution. Missing or changing contributions will affect the actual fund.
Expected Annual Return Before Retirement
Enter your assumed annual return before retirement as a percentage.
This is a planning assumption, not a guaranteed return. Use a cautious rate that reflects the assets included and their risks.
Tax treatment is not calculated. The Singapore Tax Calculator provides a separate tax-related estimate.
Desired Monthly Retirement Spending
Enter how much you would like to spend each month in today’s dollars.
Using today’s dollars makes it easier to think about your current lifestyle. The calculator increases this amount using your inflation assumption.
Expected Annual Inflation
Enter the average annual inflation rate you want to assume until retirement.
A higher rate increases the estimated future monthly spending and retirement target.
Years of Retirement to Fund
Enter the number of years the savings should support.
This creates a fixed-period target. It does not model a lifetime annuity or uncertainty about how long you may live.
Press Calculate Retirement Plan after completing the fields.
Formula Used for Savings at Retirement
First, the calculator finds the number of months until retirement:
Months to retirement = (Retirement age − current age) × 12
The current savings grow using monthly compounding:
Future value of current savings = P × (1 + r ÷ 12)^m
Regular end-of-month contributions grow using:
Future value of contributions = C × [((1 + r ÷ 12)^m − 1) ÷ (r ÷ 12)]
Where:
- P is current retirement savings
- C is monthly contribution
- r is expected annual return as a decimal
- m is the number of months until retirement
The projected retirement fund is the total of these two future values.
The Savings Calculator Singapore can be used separately for a general savings goal that is not specifically based on retirement spending.
Formula Used for the Retirement Target
The calculator first increases today’s desired monthly spending for inflation:
Future monthly spending = Today’s monthly spending × (1 + inflation rate)^years to retirement
It then calculates a simple spending target:
Retirement target = Future monthly spending × 12 × retirement years
Finally:
Gap or surplus = Projected retirement fund − retirement target
A positive result is an estimated surplus. A negative result is an estimated shortfall.
This target does not assume that the remaining fund earns investment returns during retirement. It also does not model changing spending, fees or taxes after retirement.
Retirement Calculation Example
Suppose you enter:
- Current age: 35
- Planned retirement age: 65
- Current savings: S$100,000
- Monthly contribution: S$1,000
- Expected annual return: 4%
- Desired monthly spending today: S$3,000
- Expected inflation: 2%
- Retirement period: 25 years
There are 30 years, or 360 months, until retirement.
Using a 4% annual return with monthly compounding, the projected fund at age 65 is approximately:
S$1,025,399
Next, adjust S$3,000 monthly spending for 30 years of 2% inflation:
S$3,000 × 1.02^30 = approximately S$5,434 per month
Simple retirement spending target:
S$5,434 × 12 × 25 = approximately S$1,630,225
Estimated gap:
S$1,025,399 − S$1,630,225 = −S$604,826
The result shows an estimated shortfall of about S$604,826.
This does not mean the person will definitely run out of money. It is a simplified comparison based entirely on the assumptions entered.
How Inflation and Returns Affect the Result
Inflation increases the future cost of the desired lifestyle. Investment returns increase projected savings.
A small change in either assumption can produce a large difference over several decades. Avoid using an unrealistically high return or unusually low inflation rate just to remove a shortfall.
The Inflation Calculator Singapore compares historical purchasing power using Singapore CPI data. It does not predict the future inflation rate used here.
The Compound Interest Calculator Singapore can separately show how one principal grows under a selected rate, term and compounding frequency.
How This Differs From CPF LIFE
This calculator models a private fund over a chosen number of retirement years.
CPF LIFE is different because it is designed to provide monthly payouts for life. Its payouts depend on CPF balances, plan choice, payout-start age and official CPF rules.
Use the official CPF Board tools for personalised CPF LIFE estimates. This calculator should not be used to reproduce CPF interest or payouts.
Important Limitations
The calculator does not include:
- CPF contribution changes
- Official CPF interest rates
- CPF LIFE premiums or payouts
- Investment fees or taxes
- Market losses or changing returns
- Post-retirement investment growth
- Healthcare or long-term-care shocks
- Irregular retirement spending
- Other income such as rent or annuities
- Uncertainty about lifespan
Run cautious, expected and optimistic scenarios instead of relying on one result.
Other Singapore-focused tools are available through the Calculator Singapores homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Does this calculator include CPF automatically?
A: No. Include CPF balances only if you intentionally want to model them using your own assumed return.
Q2: Does it calculate CPF LIFE payouts?
A: No. CPF LIFE is a separate lifelong payout scheme governed by official CPF rules.
Q3: Are monthly contributions added at the end of each month?
A: Yes. The projection treats regular contributions as end-of-month deposits.
Q4: Does the retirement target include inflation?
A: Yes. Today’s desired monthly spending is increased using the entered inflation rate until retirement.
Q5: Does the fund continue earning returns after retirement?
A: No. The simple spending target does not model post-retirement investment returns.
Q6: What does a negative gap mean?
A: It means the projected fund is below the simple spending target under the assumptions entered.
Q7: Is the result guaranteed?
A: No. Returns, inflation, contributions, expenses and retirement needs can all differ from the assumptions.