Are you a Saver or Spender? 60% of Singapore workers save less than one-fifth of income

60% of Singapore workers save less than one-fifth of monthly income, while 1 in 4 admit to spending most of salary on entertainment. By Alythea Ho Everyone loves year-end bonuses. Spending becomes a joy for some at this time of the year, while others prefer to squirrel away their extra earnings into passive wealth generating sources. However, when it comes to regular salary savings, it appears that many Singapore workers prefer to spend, spend, and spend. Close to 60% of Singapore workers save less than one-fifth of their income each month, reveals a survey carried out by the JobsCentral Group, a CareerBuilder company. In terms of spending, close to one-quarter (23.6%) of the workers confessed they would spend the bulk of their salary on entertainment.

In addition, one-third of Singapore workers (30.8%) admitted having additional sources of income to supplement their full-time salary. Moonlighting takes the lead, with the majority (30.5%) citing part-time jobs as their preferred means of additional income. Others rely on passive wealth growth, like dividends from stocks/bonds (26.8%), and property rental income (12.1%). These are some of the findings from an online survey carried out by JobsCentral. A total of 3,299 respondents from all levels of occupation and industries took part in this survey from September to October last year. For this survey, JobsCentral has set 20% as a benchmark for good saving habits. Even so, there is an observable improvement in thriftiness habits. One-quarter of those surveyed said they would save a higher proportion (21% to 40% of their income) each month, up from 19.7 percent of workers in 2011. "While it is encouraging to see that most people do have some savings from their monthly income, it looks like many have low saving rates. For those relying on their CPF for retirement, they may find that it is often insufficient and needs supplement from personal savings or income from investments," says Michelle Lim, Chief Operating Officer of JobsCentral Group. Young adult workers are more conservative savers than their seniors Contrary to popular belief that young Singapore workers spend more than they save, the survey shows that those between the ages 21 and 30 have better saving habits than their older peers. About 46 per cent indicated they save over 20 per cent of their income. This is almost double of those in the 41 to 50 years age bracket, in which only one-quarter of workers indicated they did so. "Surprisingly, the results dash common perceptions that the Gen-Y group spends more than they save. This is encouraging news indeed. Perhaps older workers have more financial responsibilities like mortgage and car payments, plus supporting a family, thus resulting in a lower percentage of income saved," adds Lim. Real Estate Service employees are more likely to spend than save their income Are you working in Real Estate Services? Chances are, you and your peers have the most spendthrift habits in the Services sector. Just one-third (29.9%) of those in Real Estate said they would save more than 20% of their monthly income. On the other hand, if you're employed in Public Administration and Defence, you have the most conservative saving habits. Over half of those surveyed from this service industry (54.9%) said they would regularly save over 20% of their income. Men more inclined to save a greater percentage of salary than women Both genders are just as likely to save a portion of their monthly income (95% for men, 94.7% for women). However, men are more inclined towards setting aside a greater percentage of income as savings. 41.5 per cent of male workers said that would save over 20 per cent of the salary, compared to 37.5 per cent of female workers. For the full report and infographics, visit: http://community.jobscentral.com.sg/node/2300 Are you a Saver or Spender? Share with us in the comment box! The JobsCentral Group, a CareerBuilder company, is the owner of JobsCentral.com.sg, one of Singapore's largest job and learning portals. Get a free career personality test and more career- and education-related articles at JobsCentral and JobsCentral Community. Alternatively, Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter for more career-centric content!