Is it time to rethink Singapore Savings Bonds programme?

Tay Peck Gek

Published Wed, May 27, 2020 · 09:50 PM

ARE the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs) that were introduced five years ago still appealing, now that the interest they pay has hit a record low? Perhaps it is time to give the programme a rethink.

The SSBs' June edition opened in May with a first-year interest rate of 0.57 per cent and an average return of 1.05 per cent per annum for the 10-year holding period. These are the lowest rates since the bonds were launched in 2015.

The interest rates for 12-month fixed deposits at some financial institutions are, in comparison, much higher than what the SSBs pay in their first year. Some are also higher than the average return for staying invested in SSBs for 10 years.

While SSBs offer the flexibility of redemption at any time without penalties or the loss of accrued interest, the fact that it would take 10 years to earn a rate that is merely on a par with that for a 12-month fixed depos…