As the year draws to a close, taxpayers like us have to look at options to minimise tax obligations by making use of tax reliefs. One way of doing that is to contribute to the SRS account.
Every dollar you contribute into your SRS account will reduce your taxable income by a dollar, capped at S$12,750 for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents and S$29,750 for foreigners. Investment gains made using SRS funds are tax-free and upon retirement, only 50% of the amount withdrawn will be taxable. You also earn interest of 0.5% p.a. on the cash balances in your SRS account.
Be rewarded with S$88 cash when you open a new SRS account with DBS. Simply be the first 400 customers to:
- Open a new SRS account via iBanking, and
- Contribute a minimum of S$8,500 to your SRS account
Offer ends 31 Dec 2014. So, start saving for a more rewarding retirement today.
Please refer to the website for more details.
OCBC also has a promotion for the first 2,000 new SRS accounts with contributions of S$8,000. You will receive a S$30 Robinsons voucher.
Please refer to the website for more details.
Friday, 24 October 2014
Sing Investments & Finance 50th Anniversary Promotion
Enjoy up to 1.50% p.a. Fixed Deposit Interest for a minimum fresh funds of S$10,000.
Tenure 12 months 36 months
Interest Rate 1.25% p.a. 1.50% p.a.
There is also a free S$50 gift voucher for every S$50,000 fixed deposits placed. Promotion valid while stocks last.
Please refer to the website for more details on the branch locations.
Tenure 12 months 36 months
Interest Rate 1.25% p.a. 1.50% p.a.
There is also a free S$50 gift voucher for every S$50,000 fixed deposits placed. Promotion valid while stocks last.
Please refer to the website for more details on the branch locations.
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
HSBC 8-month SGD Time Deposit Promotion
From now till 31 October 2014, HSBC will offer 1.25% p.a. interest rates on your time deposits of minimum S$50,000 for HSBC Premier customers (1.15% p.a. for HSBC Advance customers)
| Interest rate | Minimum | Reward | Roadshow gift |
| (8-month tenor) | Placement | (Robinsons | Samsonite Dreamies children's backpack |
| vouchers) | worth S$45 or S$30 shopping vouchers | ||
| S$50,000 | - | ||
| up to 1.25% p.a. | S$200,000 | S$150 voucher | HSBC Collyer Quay/Holland Village |
| S$500,000 | S$400 voucher | Marine Parade/Tampines (10 Oct) | |
| S$1 million | S$800 voucher | HSBC Jurong/Serangoon (11 Oct) |
For more details, please visit the website.
Government Co-funding for Assisted Reproduction
The Singapore Government has tried ways and means to increase Singapore's Total Fertility Rate by trying to defray the costs of having a baby from giving out Baby Bonuses to Tax Reliefs and Rebate for parents.
Couples seeking help to conceive can apply for government co-funding under the Enhanced Co-funding for Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) at Restructured Hospitals Scheme.
The scheme provides co-funding for up to 75% of the cost of their ART treatment for a maximum of 3 fresh and 3 frozen ART cycles taken at public hospitals. This covers costly ART treatments procedures such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICIS) and gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT). The scheme does not cover Assisted Conception Procedures (ACP) such as intra-uterine insemination (IUI). IUI treatments are relatively less costly, often less than $1,000 per treatment whereas an IVF Fresh Cycle treatment can range from $10,000 to $14,000 depending on the amount of stimulation medication required.
You can use up to $6,000 of your Medisave to defray both ACP expenses and ART bills (after co-funding).
Tip
Couples with children can also benefit from this scheme.What are Fresh and Frozen ART Cycles?
| Fresh ART Cycle | Frozen ART Cycle |
|---|---|
|
|
What does the Co-fund ART Scheme Cover?
| Covered | Not Covered |
|---|---|
|
|
How much co-funding can I receive?
The scheme provides co-funding for each couple for a maximum of 3 fresh and 3 frozen ART cycles. The amount of co-funding you are entitled to depends on you and your partner's nationalities. At least one of you must be a Singapore Citizen to enjoy the scheme.
| SC-SC Couple* | SC-PR Couple* | SC-Foreigner Couple* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per Fresh Cycle | 75% ($6300 max) | 55% ($4600 max) | 35% ($3000 max) |
| Per Frozen Cycle | 75% ($1200 max) | 55% ($900 max) | 35% ($600 max) |
Tips
You can use your Medisave to offset remaining costs. Withdrawal limits are set at $6000 (for 1st cycle), $5000 (for 2nd cycle) and $4000 (for 3rd and subsequent cycle), up to a lifetime cap of $15000. These limits also apply to ACP.Am I Eligible?
To qualify for the scheme, you must:
- Be under age 40 (for women) at the point of embryo transfer
- Have started or are scheduled to start a treatment cycle at participating public hospitals on or after 1 January 2013, i.e. the date of ovarian simulation (for fresh cycles) or the thawing of the embryo (for frozen cycle) is on or after 1 January 2013.
- The treatment is either a fresh or frozen ART cycle
- Be a Singapore Citizen if your spouse is not at the start of the cycle
- Have not already received co-funding for 3 fresh and 3 frozen cycles in the past
- Be deemed fit for ART treatments by a medical doctor
How Do I Apply?
No application is needed. You are only required to complete a declaration form to confirm your eligibility. The form is available at the assisted reproductive clinic of participating public hospitals.
Once the verified eligible, the subsidies will automatically apply to your hospital bill.
Participating Public Hospitals
- National University Hospital (NUH) - Clinic for Human Reproduction
- Singapore General Hospital (SGH) - Centre for Assisted Reproduction
- KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) - KKIVF Centre
For more details, please refer to the Ministry of Health website.
As a result of the co-funding given by the government, many gynaecologists from the private hospitals often advise patients who are Singapore Citizens and need to have ART treatments to transfer to one of the participating public hospitals in order to enjoy this benefit.
As Singaporeans tend to marry late these days, by the time they decide to start a family and discover that they need treatment to conceive, they may be their mid-30s already. My advice is : Do start early if you can!
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Maybank iSAVvy Savings Account Promotion
Now you can earn an attractive rate of up to 1.30% p.a. on your iSAVvy Savings Account. Simply deposit a minimum of S$5,000 in your account to get started!
This promotion is available from 1 October 2014 to 31 January 2015 and applicable to iSAVvy Savings Account and Prestige Savings Account only.
Please refer to the website for more details.
Fresh Funds
|
Bonus Interest
|
Base Interest
|
Total Interest
|
Deposit (S$)
|
Rates (% p.a.)(A)
|
Rates (% p.a.)(B)
|
Rates (% p.a.)(A+B)
|
5,000 to < 50,000
|
0.30
|
1.10
| |
50,000 to < 200,000
|
0.80
|
0.38
|
1.18
|
= 200,000
|
0.50
|
1.30
|
Please refer to the website for more details.
UOB Foreign Currency Fixed Deposits Promotion
From now till 31 Oct 2014, simply deposit a minimum of $50,000 in fresh funds per placement in the respective currency to enjoy promotional rates below.
Please refer to the website for more details.
| Currency | 3-month Tenor* (p.a.) |
| USD | 0.80% |
| AUD | 3.15% |
Please refer to the website for more details.
POSB Child Development Account (CDA) Launch Promotion
POSB CDA account will launch in 2015. Previously, parents can only open CDA accounts for their child with OCBC and Standard Chartered Bank. Please refer to an earlier post on this by clicking on the link.
To attract new sign-ups, POSB will pay a 6-month early bird bonus interest of 1% p.a.* on top of the POSB CDA interest rate. These rates are not defined yet.
Simply,
(1) Register your interest at www.posb.com.sg/cda before 31 Oct 2014.
(2) Open POSB CDA by 30 June 2015
* The first 10,000 customers who fulfil the eligibility criteria will qualify to earn 6 months early bird bonus of 1% p.a. on the ending balances (capped at S$12,000) in the POSBCDA account on 30 June 2015.
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