Singapore Savings Bond July 2022 – From 1.69% to 2.71% p.a. Returns

Details for July 2022’s Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) is out, and rates look even better than they did last month. The ten-year average return is 2.71% p.a, while even 2-year rates are over 2% p.a:

Year From Issue Date	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Interest %	1.69	2.65	2.80	2.80	2.83	2.89	2.89	2.89	2.89	3.00
Average p.a. return %	1.69	2.16	2.37	2.47	2.54	2.60	2.63	2.66	2.69	2.71

Last month’s June bond was the first time in a few years to not only reach the maximum offered amount, but was oversubscribed by more than 1.5 times the amount.

Ostensibly to meet demand, the tranche size this month is S$600 million – almost double of last month’s S$350 million which itself is a bigger amount than what was previously offered (usually $100 to $200 million).

What is Singapore Savings Bond?

The video below was done for May 2022’s bond, but the other aspects apply to Singapore Savings Bonds in general:

The Singapore Savings Bond is fully backed by the Singapore Government, and offers to provide individual with a safe and flexible way to save. The principal amount and returns are guaranteed, and you can redeem your SSB for cash anytime (subject to the redemption timeline). See more information such as how returns work and how to apply/redeem in the write-up I did for May 2022’s SSB.

Application timeline

Opening Date	Closing Date	Allotment	Issuance
1st business day of month (6PM)	4th last business day of the month (9PM)	3rd last business day of the month (after 3PM)	1st business day of the following month (end of day)
1st June 2022 (6PM)	27th June 2022 (9PM)	28th June 2022 (after 3PM)	1st July 2022 (by end of day)

Note that there is a non-refundable S$2 fee for each application and withdrawal transaction.

Thoughts and estimating the largest amount per person

In the past couple of months, most of us interested in higher yielding but still safe assets took notice of SSB’s rising rates since May’s bond was announced. Some of us – at least myself – took a wait-and-see attitude to see if rates would climb higher.

If you have a relatively small amount to set aside – say around S$10,000 to S$25,000 – it seems like the wait has paid off, and July’s rates are better than both May and June’s bonds.

If you have a larger amount to set aside, however, you may not have a luxury of choice as there is a maximum amount offered by SSB. Last month, the maximum any individual person got was either S$15,000 or S$15,500. Looking at this month’s rates and maximum amount size, my guess is that each person would probably be able to place about S$20,000 to S$25,000 or so. We will know of allotment results on 28th June 2022.

Larger amounts would most likely have to be split across across different months’ SSBs, or placed in other instruments available in the market. There is also no stopping someone – aisde from trust issues – from enlisting the help of a family member or trusted person to place more funds.

There is little point in subscribing earlier than the cut off date of 27th June 2022 as no priority is given for earlier applicants. There is also no interest generated until the bond is issued on 1st July 2022.

Bank deposits

Bank deposits are starting to show signs of rate increase. Shared in the Telegram chat, StanChart’s eSaver is offering 0.80% p.a. on fresh funds, and Maybank’s fixed deposits are now up between 1.30% 1.80% p.a. for fixed deposits from 12 to 36 months.

You can also consider some current banking promos here.

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