Beyond the Numbers: 5 Key Questions Australian Expats in Singapore Should Ask About Retirement

By Jarrad Brown

Funny thing about retirement: most of us plan our next holiday with more care than we plan for it, even though it’s likely to be the longest one we ever take. Part of that is timing. A holiday is close enough to feel real. Retirement always seems to sit safely over the horizon, so it’s easy to tell yourself you’ll get to it later. Part of it is also that holidays are enjoyable to plan, while retirement forces you to confront questions you’d rather not think about, with no guarantee any of it works out as expected.

Move to Singapore, and those questions multiply. You’ve likely stepped outside the superannuation system, at least in terms of employer contributions ticking away in the background. You’re now answering to two tax authorities instead of one. And somewhere down the line, you’ll need to work out whether “home” in retirement means Sydney, Singapore, or something in between. Here are five questions worth sitting with, not just once, but every few years as your circumstances shift.

1. Where do you actually want to retire?

It sounds like a simple question, but the answer shapes almost everything else. Do you picture yourself moving back to Australia eventually? Staying in Singapore for good? Or dividing your year between the two, perhaps Australian summers and Singapore the rest of the time?

This matters because tax residency generally isn’t something you can split evenly. Most countries, Australia included, expect you to be resident for tax purposes in one place at a time under double tax agreements, and spending more than around 183 days a year somewhere can be enough to trigger residency there. If part-time living across two countries is the dream, it’s worth working through how that affects your tax position, your super, and your other assets well ahead of time, rather than figuring it out once you’re already living it.

Couples don’t always see eye to eye on this either. Partners can have quite different pictures of where retirement should happen, so it’s worth having that conversation early rather than assuming you’re both picturing the same future.

2. How are you making up for the superannuation you’re not receiving?

This is often the gap Australians in Singapore don’t notice until much later. Back home, compulsory employer contributions quietly build up a retirement fund without you having to think about it. Once you’re on an Employment Pass in Singapore, those contributions usually stop, and most Employment Pass holders aren’t required to pay into CPF either, since that’s generally reserved for citizens and permanent residents. So there’s a genuine risk of a multi-year stretch where retirement savings simply aren’t growing the way they once were.

It also helps to understand that CPF and superannuation aren’t really doing the same job. Super is built specifically to fund retirement. CPF is a wider system that also covers housing and healthcare, with its own rules around contributions, access, investment choice and tax. If you later become a Singapore PR, CPF contributions typically become compulsory, which changes things again.

In the meantime, some expats keep contributing voluntarily to their super, others invest outside the super system while abroad, and some do a combination of the two. What works best depends on whether you plan to return to Australia, your broader investment goals, and how much flexibility you want over your money. This is one area where it’s worth getting advice tailored to your situation, rather than assuming your old super arrangements are still quietly doing the job.

3. What’s happening with your property and other financial ties back in Australia?

Leaving Australia doesn’t mean your financial responsibilities back home disappear. If you’re renting out a property, for example, you may still have Australian tax obligations. Selling a property that was once your main home can also have tax implications when you’re living overseas, so it’s worth understanding the rules before making any decisions.

It makes sense to check in periodically on what you’re still carrying back home, whether that’s a mortgage, insurance or plans to invest in property. Some expats use the extra disposable income that can come with an overseas posting to pay down debt faster or build an Australian property portfolio, but it’s important to consider how those decisions fit into your broader financial plans, especially if you’re unsure where you’ll eventually settle.

4. Have you thought through healthcare, both now and down the track?

Healthcare costs tend to climb faster than general inflation, in Australia and in Singapore alike. If retiring in Singapore is on the cards, it’s worth getting familiar with the local healthcare and insurance system, including what the basic schemes cover and where extra private cover might make sense. If a return to Australia is the plan, checking your Medicare enrolment and understanding how Lifetime Health Cover may apply are useful additions to your homecoming list.

It’s also worth considering how your family would cope financially if something serious happened while you’re overseas, whether that’s a major illness, redundancy, or worse. Would your life insurance still pay out if the event happened while you were working abroad? Is your cover adequate, and does it actually travel with you? None of this is pleasant to think about, but it’s far easier to sort out now than in the middle of a crisis.

5. What do you want to leave behind?

Even if the plan is to “spend it all” in retirement, none of us knows exactly when our time will be up, so there’s a fair chance something will be left over. Estate planning gets noticeably trickier once you hold assets in more than one country. A single will often isn’t enough on its own. It tends to work better to have separate wills for each country where you own assets, so each one complies with local succession law and doesn’t get needlessly held up in probate. Rules around forced heirship or inheritance tax can also look quite different from what you’re used to in Australia.

Putting a will in place, keeping beneficiary nominations current (including any CPF nomination, where relevant), and being clear about who gets what can spare your family a lot of stress later. It’s a conversation worth having sooner rather than later, even if it feels a bit uncomfortable at the time.

The bigger picture

None of these questions has one correct answer, and that’s really the point. Retirement planning as an Australian expat in Singapore isn’t just about deciding whether super or CPF is “better”, or working through a tidy checklist. It’s about shaping a plan around where you want to live, how you’ll keep building savings while overseas, what you’re still on the hook for back home, how you’ll handle rising healthcare costs, and what you’d like to pass on.

There’s plenty outside your control, but talking to an adviser who understands both the Australian and Singaporean systems can help join the dots. Working through these five questions is a solid place to start.

When you’re ready, feel free to schedule a complimentary conversation, and we can discuss your cross-border retirement planning needs and the steps you can consider to get there.

Jarrad Brown is an Australian-trained and qualified Fee-Based Financial Planner of Global Financial Consultants Pte Ltd providing specialist financial advice and portfolio management services to Australian professionals in Singapore.

Jarrad Brown is an Authorised Representative of Global Financial Consultants Pte Ltd – No: 200305462G | MAS License No: FA100035-3

To learn more about how we may be able to help you, please contact us:

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General Information Only: The information on this site is of a general nature only. It does not take into account your individual financial situation, objectives or needs. You should consider your own financial position and requirements before making a decision.

*Please note that Jarrad Brown is not a tax agent or accountant and none of the content outlined here should be taken as personal advice. You should consult your tax agent and financial adviser to review your current personal finances and financial goals to consider whether this strategy is appropriate for you.