Singapore retirees plan to leave inheritance worth $473,000

70% of retirees are prepared to do so.

According to HSBC’s Future of Retirement study: Life after work?, receiving an inheritance is not commonplace in Singapore where the majority of working people (64%) and half of retirees (48%) here have never received a significant financial gift or loan from parents or relatives. 

Only about a third (31%) of working people and two-fifths (39%) of retirees have benefited from this type of legacy. 

The findings are not surprising given that inheritance forms only a small part (5%) of the average Singapore retiree’s income.

Cash savings and deposits form more than a quarter (29%) of retirement income, with state pensions contributing 21%, and investment income making up 18% which comprises bonds, endowments, shares, unit trusts and mutual funds.

Interestingly, there are more retirees expecting to leave an inheritance (70%) than there are working people expecting to receive one (34%).

Retirees are prepared to leave an inheritance of a median value of S$473,219, almost five times more than the amount working people expect to receive (S$98,376). This difference can be explained in part by the fact that inheritances are often divided among more than one beneficiary.

Leaving a legacy to one’s children helps younger people achieve important goals in their lives such as higher education, marriage and home ownership. Among working people who have received a significant financial legacy, one-third (31%) used it to help with the cost of education, while a quarter (27%) spent it on getting married.