Maturity value and interest for a Singapore term deposit.
Maturity value
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Interest earned
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Effective annual yield
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Principal
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SDIC cover status
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Your breakdown
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How Singapore term deposits work
A term deposit, also called a fixed deposit in Singapore, locks your money with a bank for an agreed period at a fixed annual interest rate. At maturity you receive back your principal plus the interest accrued. Because the rate is fixed from day one and cannot change mid-tenor, a term deposit is a genuinely risk-free savings instrument for the period you commit to. The trade-off is illiquidity: breaking early usually forfeits some or all of the interest. Singapore banks offer tenors from as short as one week to three years, though promotional rates with meaningful uplift over savings account rates typically apply to 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month placements. The calculator uses simple interest, matching how most Singapore banks apply it for tenors up to 12 months.
Comparing term deposits to Singapore Savings Bonds and T-bills
Three main risk-free options compete for Singapore savers: term deposits at banks (SDIC-insured up to $100,000 per bank), Singapore Savings Bonds issued by MAS (backed by the Singapore government, redeemable any month with no penalty), and 6-month Treasury bills auctioned weekly by MAS. In a normal rate environment all three offer broadly similar yields, making liquidity and convenience the deciding factors. SSBs win on flexibility since they can be redeemed any month at full accrued interest. T-bills offer a slightly different pricing mechanism (discount to face value, non-competitive bids available) and are often priced to institutional buyers. Term deposits at banks win when a promotional rate is available that beats the going SSB or T-bill yield, which happened in 2022 and 2023. The right approach for most savers is a ladder: some in term deposits for the promotional rate, some in SSBs for the flexibility reserve.
SDIC protection and the $100,000 per bank limit
SDIC insures deposits at Singapore-incorporated banks and finance companies. The limit is $100,000 per depositor per institution. A depositor who holds $80,000 at DBS and $70,000 at OCBC is fully covered at both banks even though the combined total exceeds $100,000, because the limit applies per institution. A depositor who holds $150,000 at a single bank is covered for only $100,000 and the remaining $50,000 is unsecured. The practical solution is to spread large balances across SDIC-member banks. Joint accounts are counted separately from individual accounts at the same bank under the SDIC scheme, which offers an additional layer of effective coverage for couples.