What an epic start to 2022. In just one quarter we are now in the amidst of the Perfect Long Storm, Russian-Ukraine Tension and Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. Maybe the saving grace is that we will be able to travel to Malaysia (with more freedom) from 1st April.
In any case, this is the SRS update for March 2022. If you are new to SRS, I would encourage you to start from my most read SRS article, 5 Things You Need To Know About SRS to begin.
Disclaimer: This is not and should not be taken as a buy/sell recommendation.
My Thoughts And Consideration
My SRS Portfolio and Thoughts [March 2022]The most glaring underperformance continues to be my exposure into Chinese Technology Stocks (SGX:HST). The price is already 41% down since the last time I entered. The question I get asked frequently is how will China do moving ahead.
I reemphasize again that this is not and should not be taken as a buy/sell recommendation. Wishing you all the best!
Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
This year, it is stated that 7 out of 10 taxpayers in Singapore will not be required to file a tax return as there have been initiatives to simplify tax filings. This includes No-Filing Services (NFS) and Auto-inclusion Schemes. Partnerships whose revenue of up to $200K will only need a 2 line statement as compared to 4 line previously.
It is worth noting that you can make changes to your income or reliefs by making an amendment on the IRAS portal 30 days from date of tax bill. Any excess taxes can be refunded by PayNow.
Final Thoughts
Think about your Netflix subscription and you are buying their library of movies. I consider individual income tax as a subscription that I pay to stay in my country. I’m paying for my safety, the public goods and mainly the comfort to live in Singapore even if the perfect storm is coming.
I like the progressive income taxes system in Singapore but I’m like most of you, it is not fun paying taxes.
I wish you the best in your financial journey. Hope to hear from some of you. I will be arranging for a CPF webinar in the weeks ahead. Please leave a comment below if you wish to be updated on the details of the webinar.
Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
These statistics means one thing. We are energy dependent with these partner countries. Tension with partner countries will shake the core of our energy consumption (amidst all the other things)
4 Ways The Perfect Long Storm Will Affect Us Inflation (Graph: Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Trade and Industry)
As we have already covered energy above that will impact utilities and transport, let’s talk about food. 90% of food consumed in the country is imported. I read that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is working towards producing 30% of nutritional needs locally by 2030. Again, it is about reducing dependency.
As individuals, we can support these initiatives by supporting local. You will be able to see this in labels such as the one below. Unfortunately, food is a basis necessity. It is really up to us to manage these cost.
4 Ways The Perfect Long Storm Will Affect Us Singapore Produce
Healthcare
I think people are already tired of hearing this from me. However, I have to emphasis again that you (and/or your family) might be one illness away from being financially ruined. SARS, Zika, COVID19 are some examples of threats that came without preparation.
However, we can “control” and prepare for some threats such as diabetes, heart attack and cancer. This includes exercising more, having a good diet and not smoking. At the same time, we can prepare for such threats with adequate financial planning.
4 Ways The Perfect Long Storm Will Affect Us Critical Illness Gap (Data from 2018)
Claims aside, medical inflation is not new and we might be seeing premiums changes in the years ahead from our hospitalisation plans. Would we be able to afford for healthcare cost during working life and also during retirement?
Income
The most touchy issue of all is income. As Singapore is an aging population, most of our workers would probably be middle aged. These means that wages then to stay stagnant as compared to a younger population. A high inflation will definitely hurt our pockets.
Salaries increment has average around 3.3% (in 2021) according to a survey done by Mercer. This means that if inflation were to be above 3.3%, we are worse off. Voluntary turnover was 11.2% in 2021 and the main reasons for doing so are dissatisfaction with their compensation (66%), lack of career advancement (60%), followed by burnout (32%).
It may be challenging to change a job, ask for an increment for no reason. I think more than ever, it is important to be relevant in your role and how you can benefit your company.
Final Thoughts
It got to my attention that humans have been entirely at peace for just 8% of recorded history or at war 92% of the time. Since 2003, there have been 30 wars going around the world. This average out to be around 1.5 wars per year. These crisis are not new but probably got escalated by political difference between the West (USA and Allies) and Russia.
As a small country who is reliant on imports, it is important to be adequately prepared and planning as a nation ahead to reduce dependency. There are numerous examples around the world such as Egypt (dependency on wheat to make bread) that caused a food crisis in 2008.
It is also important as individuals to make wise (as best possible) decisions for the above 4 points.
Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
On Feb 18, 2022, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong delivered the Singapore Budget 2022 in Parliament. The topics were broad ranging as it addresses the economy, helping businesses and green initiatives. The focus which I saw was mainly into healthcare, retirement and funding them.
In this article, I will talk about 4 main things from the Singapore Budget 2022 that will affect ordinary people like you and me. In addition, I will talk about the possible impact in a limited context.
4 Things From Singapore Budget 2022 That Will Affect You and Me
This might be dreadful news for everyone. GST is basically a tax on all goods and service in Singapore. Think of your coffee at Breadtalk, the iPhone you buy from Singtel or the massage at the parlor. We might not “see” GST very often as most shops would have already incorporated GST into their final prices. When GST increase, this will inevitably be passed to consumers like us. It is more important than ever to plan more for our retirement.
Positively thinking, the GST in 2022 is still 7%. If you have any bigger expenditure (Read more: How To Save On Big Ticket Purchases) that you require, you can consider doing so in 2022. These could be things like renovation, buying a laptop etc.
On a side note, this might boost the Singapore economy in 2022.
#2: Vouchers for You and Me
The Assurance Package first announced in 2020 by then Finance Minister Heng Swee Kiat has been topped up to be $6.6B by current Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. The main intention is to help support lower and middle income household in the increase in GST (maintain standard of living) even after the package ends.
The Straits Times actually did a beautiful summary on the vouchers that could be received. For a more detailed look at how much specially you will be getting, the Ministry of Finance page is the place to go.
I can safely say that the minimum that a Singaporean age 21 and above will get at least $700 from 2023 to 2027.
#3: CPF Retirement for You and Me
CPF Retirement Sums Raised
The first impact on CPF retirement is that our retirement sums will be raised by 3.5% per year for the next 5 cohorts that will be turning 2023 to 2027. There have been no mention if this will be reduced after that. It would be good to note that it was previously increasing at 3% per year.
Singapore Budget 2022 CPF Retirement
This means that more have to be put inside of CPF so that you will be able to have a higher monthly payout at 65. However, this will also mean that you will likely draw out less at age 55. (Read More: 3 Key Changes To CPF Policies From 2022).
It is also worth noting that 8 out of 10 active CPF members aged 55 in 2027 will be expected to hit their BRS securing a basic level of retirement in any case.
CPF Contribution Rates Raised
The second impact on CPF will be of contribution rates for employers and employees will continue to be increased. The first increase has started from 1 Jan 2022. The next increase will be in 2023. This will also mean that more will go into CPF.
It is worth noting that if a CPF member have already hit the FRS, you will be able to withdraw the excess out as cash. Therefore, increase in contribution rate (by the employer) is generally seen as a good sign.
Singapore Budget 2022 CPF Contribution
#4: Taxes for You and Me
If you are affected by some of these tax, congratulations! You might be the top 1% income earners in Singapore. In the budget 2022, there will be 3 main taxes namely, income tax, property tax and luxury car taxes.
Income Tax
This change will come in for year of assessment 2024. This means that it will be for income earned between 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2023. There will be 2 additional upper bands.
For chargeable income from $500K to $1M, it will be taxed at 23%.
For chargeable income from $1M and above, it will be taxed at 24%.
Singapore Budget 2022 Effective Income Taxes
In the grand scheme of things, our effective income taxes are still reasonable as compared to many other countries. I believe this will affect the top 1% of us. (Read More: Income Tax Deductible 2021)
Property Taxes
To understand property taxes, there are 2 concepts that you need to know. One is Annual Value (AV) and the other is whether the owner is staying in the property. As the latter is quite clear, I will explain AV.
This number is decided by IRAS and there is nothing much you can really do about it. You can find the AV of your property on the IRAS portal. Looking at the photo below, you can have a rough sense by looking at the AV compared with the type of property.
Singapore Budget 2022 Property Taxes
Property taxes will be raised in 2 phrases namely in 2023 and 2024.
I believe impact will be felt for Non Owner occupied of AV > $45,000 with tax rates increasing from the current 14% to 28% in 2024. These would most likely be an investment property that are collecting rent.
For Owner occupied of AV > $55,000, the tax rates will increase from the current 4% to 10% in 2024. According to Lawrence Wong, this will affect 7% of owner-occupied residential properties. I believe this will be a combination of landed property owners (5% according to Department of Statistics in 2021) and some condominiums owners in central areas (2% of residential properties owners by subtraction). It will not affect most of us.
This is be seen as a form of wealth tax.
Luxury Car Taxes
An additional registration fee (ARF) tier has been created for cars, taxis and goods-cum-passenger vehicles with open market values (OMV) exceeding $80,000.
This will only affect Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus and Bentley Continental GT, and it will also affect several other makes such as Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Maybach as well as top-end models in a number of other brands.
I believe this will not impact most people on the ground.
Singapore Budget 2022 Car Taxes Bentley Continental GT: Seen any of these around?
Conclusion
The budget comprises more than just the above 4. The 4 points above just show how the Singapore Budget 2022 will directly impact you and me.
I wish you the best in your financial journey. Hope to hear from some of you.
Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
Travelling is not the same after COVID19. There are new terms such as VTL, PCR and 2G ruling. However, that’s not the most frustrating and most worrying thing.
It is that these rules can change overnight.
For those of you who are concerned about the cost of travelling and if it will be worth it, I will be writing on a sole account on my trip to Germany and the cost of it. I will also share my frustrations and what you should take note for your trip if you wish to do so.
Disclaimer: COVID19 rules change often. Please get the most updated information from official sources and let this blog be a guide for your safe travels to Germany.
Is it worth it to travel to Germany during COVID season
Booking of Flights
The booking of flight was the easiest part. When we were booking our flights, we were quite worried when we couldn’t find a VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane) from Singapore to Germany. Fear not, this is because VTL is only applicable from Germany to Singapore. The flight from Singapore to Germany will not have a VTL status as shown below.
SIA Tickets Singapore to Germany Cost COVIDSIA Tickets Germany to Singapore Cost VTL
Noticed that there is a box in blue (from Frankfurt to Singapore) that shows Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL). If you do not wish to be quarantined when you are back, pick the VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lanes). There will be VTL and non-VTL flights so choose properly. Hope this put to rest some of the doubts that some of you might have.
There are only two airlines namely Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines are serving this route for now.
In our case, We flew by SIA to Frankfurt during December 2021 and it costs $1007 both ways.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance isn’t compulsory during the period of time when we were travelling to Germany but we purchased it anyway. There were 3 decent insurance companies that covers for COVID-19 situations that you can consider. These companies are namely AIG, AXA and NTUC. I won’t go into the details. Please note that some countries require proof of insurance before entering.
AIG COVID19 Coverage Travel Guard
Personally, I selected AIG Travel Guard for my trip there. It cost $137 for a ten days trip to Germany.
Vaccination Proof
This is probably the most important item you will need for a trip. Go to Notarise to download and print a copy of your vaccination proof. (I have also save a copy of the vaccination proof in my phone just in case).
Notarise Vaccination Certification
Germany treats COVID19 very serious. Every single retailer and restaurant will definitely check your vaccination status. You have to be fully vaccinated (with Germany approved vaccines) with 6 months of validity. You can consider this like a “passport / Trace Together” to be checked before entering any facilities.
FFP2 Mask
FFP masks are “filtering face piece”. It is a European standard for mask efficiency, ranging from one, the lowest grade, to three, the highest. Some hotels or tourist attractions will need you to wear a FFP2 graded mask before you can be allowed in.
It is very similar to America’s N95 or China KN95.
Is it worth it to travel to Germany FFP2 mask
I wasn’t sure how strict Germany will be so I bought the FFP2 mask from Shoppe that bore the wording FFP2 on the mask. I bought 10 FF2 masks for 10 days. However, 2 of them was faulty. Luckily, it is generally quite easy to buy a mask in Germany. The box I bought cost $16 for 20 pieces.
German Rail Pass
This is the least complicated of them all. You just have to check if buying single train tickets are worth it or buying a rail pass.
Is it worth it to travel to Germany Rail Pass
If you are travelling inter cities, you might be thinking if it is worth it to get a German Rail Pass. A German Rail Pass is like an “unlimited” travel pass that you can use to get yourself around. The German Rail Pass allows you to travel on Deutsche Bahn trains (U Bahns are not part of the DB series). It will get you to most places. It is generally worth it if you plan to travel to more than 3 cities (with a combination of Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin). It is quite flexible and you can choose if you want it for 3,4,5,7,10,15 days consecutive or selected travel dates version.
I paid $325 (for myself) for a 10 days consecutive German Rail Pass Twin Pass. Simply print a copy of Rail Pass before going to Germany.
Travelling In Germany
That’s all the heavy lifting you need to do before going to Germany.
At the time of travel (Dec2021), we did not need to do any COVID-19 test to go to Germany (Check the latest here). It would be good to familarise yourself with the 3G, 2G and 2G plus rules in Germany. In most cases, you will see 2G more often, this means that you have to be fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19. In most cases of Singaporeans, you will be fully vaccinated already. Simply show your vaccination proof and your passport to be allowed in.
You will also need to wear a mask when you are indoors (trains, shopping center).
The restaurants do not practice safe distancing (which was strange to us). It tends to be a squeezy at times. On the bright side, the food portion is huge and affordable. Order as you deem fit.
Is it worth it to travel to Germany Food Cost
VTL Preparation into Singapore
This worried us the most as we needed to do a Pre-Departure test before coming back to Singapore. When we first booked the air ticket, the requirement was to do a PCR test which cost around 70Euros.
Germany To Singapore Pre Departure COVID Test VTL
However, when we re-checked the website, we realised that PCR OR ART was allowed for Germany (Category II). Although apprehensive, we decide to wing it and take the ART which cost 8.5Euros instead. Talk above massive savings!
We did our test at Zentrum. You should be able to find a COVID test center quite easily in Germany. Please remember to go to a center which will be able to provide you a test certificate showing negative results. In our case, the results came after 1 hour (phew).
We were very fortunate to be the batch that require us to go for 7 days of ART test. On the on the third and seventh days, the tests will have to be done under supervision at a combined test centre. After being tested negative, we can proceed out to do our daily activities.
Fortunately, it wasn’t very expensive. 5 days of test kits cost around $25 in total and the 2 days of ART supervision cost $30. In total, this is an extra $55 that we didn’t see coming.
Conclusion
The whole trip costed around $3000 per person. Transport costed the most as airticket and the rail pass was the most hefty item. Accommodation was the second on the list. I found the hotel rates pretty similar as compared to before COVID so book according to your requirement.
I find that budgeting around SGD$100 for daily meals (with beer) is quite reasonable. You probably will have some extra to get some presents.
If you are planning to do skiing, it is not the cheapest activity but it will definitely be worth it.
There is a “new norm” COVID related expense at 6.3%. These includes my FFP2 mask, the PCR test and various ART test.
Is it worth it to travel to Germany Total CostSomebody asked me if given the choice again, will I travel to Germany?
The answer is a resounding yes. Germany is a country that treat COVID seriously. The streets are generally safe and people are friendlier than Singaporeans (I will use myself as a basis point). It is nice to try different food and walk in a different street once in a while. Overall, I enjoyed myself very much and look forward to your experience overseas.
Lastly, take note that COVID rules have changed before and are very likely to change again in future. Please check the latest requirements and let this article serves as a general guide.
Safe travels.
Is it worth it to travel to Germany 2021
Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
![My SRS Portfolio and Thoughts [March 2022]](https://yourwealthdojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/My-SRS-Portfolio-and-Thoughts-March-2022.jpg)
