If your total wealth is more than S$125K, you may be wealthier than half of the fellow Singaporeans.

But before you celebrate, there is more to the story.

According to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026, Singapore’s median wealth at the end of 2025 was US$96,434, or approximately S$125K.

Yet, the average net wealth was US$527,217 per adult, approximately S$681K based on the prevailing exchange rate in July 2026.

That means the average is more than five times the median.

How can Singaporeans have an average wealth of S$681K when the person in the middle has only S$125K?

More importantly, if you have already accumulated S$1M or more, does that mean you can retire comfortably?

The Average Singaporean Is Not The Average Joe

Singapore’s average wealth may be S$681K, but that does not mean the typical Singaporean owns S$681K. The median is much lower at approximately S$125K. A small group of very wealthy individuals pulls up the average, so the “average Singaporean” in the report is not really the everyday Singaporean.

• Average wealth is calculated by adding everyone’s wealth and dividing it by the number of adults.
• Median wealth represents the person in the middle. Half the adult population has more wealth, while the other half has less.

Imagine ten people in a room. Nine have S$100K each, while one has S$10M. Their average wealth is S$1.09M, even though nine out of ten have only S$100K.

That is why the average can be misleading. A relatively small group of very wealthy individuals can pull the figure much higher.

The average may tell us that Singapore is a wealthy country, but it does not tell us how financially secure most Singaporeans feel.

Neither does it tell us whether you are ready to retire.

Why Many Singaporeans Are Wealthy on Paper

If you are in your 40s or 50s, your personal balance sheet may look something like this:

• An HDB flat, condominium or landed property
• Savings accumulated in CPF
• Cash in fixed deposits, T-bills or Singapore Savings Bonds
• A collection of insurance and endowment policies
• Shares, unit trusts, ETFs or investment portfolios
• Perhaps a second property or investment account
• An outstanding housing loan and other liabilities

When you add everything together and deduct your debts, you may discover that your net worth is already above S$1M.

That is a meaningful achievement.

You have worked hard, saved consistently and benefited from Singapore’s property and CPF systems. You may be doing much better financially than you realise.

But there is a difference between being a millionaire on paper and having $1M available to fund your retirement.

Suppose you own a $1.5M condominium with an outstanding mortgage of $400K. You also have $500K in CPF and $300K in cash and investments.

Your net worth is $1.9M.

But if you intend to continue living in the condominium, its value cannot be used to pay for your daily expenses. Unless you sell, downgrade, rent out part of the property or otherwise unlock its value, it remains your home—not your retirement income.

Your CPF will provide an important foundation, but it is governed by CPF withdrawal and payout rules.

The $300K in cash and investments may therefore be the most flexible part of your wealth.

You are clearly not poor. But your retirement lifestyle may be determined more by that S$300K and your CPF LIFE payout than by the $1.9M net-worth figure.

Not All Wealth Can Be Used in the Same Way

This is one of the most useful insights from the UBS report.

It estimates that only 29% of Singapore’s total personal net wealth was held in liquid or investable assets in 2025.

The rest was held in less-liquid assets such as property, life insurance and mandatory retirement savings.

This does not mean the other 71% has no value. Far from it.

A fully paid home gives you security and removes the need to pay rent. CPF LIFE can provide income no matter how long you live. Insurance protects you and your family against risks that could otherwise derail your financial plan.

But these assets serve different purposes.

The problem comes when we add them all together, arrive at a large net-worth figure and assume that the entire amount can support our retirement spending.

It cannot.

A $1M home does not produce $40K of annual income simply because we apply a 4% withdrawal rate to its value.

An insurance policy’s projected maturity value cannot pay today’s bills.

CPF savings and CPF LIFE payouts should not be treated as if they were cash sitting in a bank account.

Different assets have different levels of liquidity, risk and income potential. A good retirement plan must give each asset the right job.

The Three Wealth Numbers That Matter

Instead of focusing only on your net worth, I believe every pre-retiree should understand three different numbers.

1. Your Total Net Worth

This is everything you own, less everything you owe. It may include your property, CPF, cash, investments, insurance policy values and business interests.

Net worth is useful because it gives you a complete view of your financial position. It also helps you track whether your overall wealth is growing.

But it does not tell you how much you can spend in retirement.

2. Your Investable Wealth

This refers to assets that can be invested or repositioned relatively easily. It may include:

• Cash and fixed deposits
• Singapore Savings Bonds and T-bills
• Shares and ETFs
• Unit trusts
• Bonds
• Managed investment portfolios

This number gives you a better picture of the capital available to fund your future goals.

But even investable wealth is not automatically retirement-ready. A concentrated stock portfolio, for example, may be liquid but too volatile to fund near-term expenses.

3. Your Retirement-Income-Producing Wealth

This consists of the assets and income sources that can support you after your salary stops.

They may include:

• CPF LIFE payouts
• Annuity income
• Bond interest
• Dividends and distributions
• Planned portfolio withdrawals
• Rental income
• Maturing policies
• Other recurring income

For retirement planning, this is the most important number.

The goal is not simply to accumulate a large balance sheet. It is to understand how much sustainable income your assets can produce—and how long that income may last.

Have You Accumulated Assets—or Built a Retirement Plan?

Many mass-affluent Singaporeans have done the right things.

They have built successful careers, upgraded their homes, paid down their mortgages and accumulated CPF savings, investments and insurance policies.

But most people do not build their wealth according to one master plan.

We buy a property because we need a home. We purchase insurance when we start a family. We invest in a fund because someone recommends it. We buy shares when the market looks attractive and place money in fixed deposits when interest rates rise.

Each decision may have made sense at the time.

Twenty or thirty years later, we may have accumulated many assets without knowing how they should work together in retirement.

As retirement approaches, the questions change. It is no longer just:

“How much did my portfolio grow this year?”

You also need to ask:

• How much monthly income can my assets provide?
• Which expenses will CPF LIFE cover?
• Which assets should I draw down first?
• How much cash should I keep?
• When will my insurance policies mature?
• What happens if the market falls shortly after I retire?
• Can my portfolio keep pace with inflation?
• Should I keep, rent out or eventually downgrade my home?
• Can my money last until age 90 or beyond?

These are not investment questions alone. They are retirement-planning questions.

Why Retirement Changes the Way You Invest

While you are working, your salary pays the bills.

If markets fall, you can continue investing and give your portfolio time to recover. In fact, lower prices may allow you to buy more investments with the same monthly contribution.

Retirement reverses this process.

Once your salary stops, you may need to withdraw money from your portfolio to pay for your lifestyle.

If markets fall early in retirement and you continue withdrawing from the portfolio, you may be forced to sell more units at lower prices. This leaves less capital to benefit when markets eventually recover.

That is why a retirement portfolio cannot focus only on achieving the highest possible return.

It must also consider:

• Liquidity for near-term spending
• Stable income for essential expenses
• Diversification across different assets
• Growth to keep pace with inflation
• Flexibility for unexpected expenses
• The ability to survive poor market conditions

This is the difference between accumulating wealth and organising wealth for retirement.

Your Retirement Number Is Personal

Neither $681K nor $125K should become your retirement target. Even $1M is not a meaningful retirement goal without understanding the lifestyle it needs to support.

Suppose you want $5K a month in retirement and expect CPF LIFE to provide $2K. Your other assets must provide the remaining $3K, or $36K a year.

But how much capital is needed to generate that income? The answer depends on several factors:

• When you plan to retire
• How long your retirement may last
• Whether your spending will change over time
• How much investment risk you can tolerate
• Whether you are willing to draw down capital
• Whether you plan to leave an inheritance
• How inflation affects your expenses
• Whether you may unlock value from your property later

Someone who wants $10K a month will need a very different plan from someone who is comfortable with $4K. Similarly, someone with a fully paid home and no dependants may require less than someone who still supports children, ageing parents or a housing loan.

This is why retirement planning should begin with income, not an arbitrary net-worth target.

Instead of asking:

“Is $1M enough for my retirement?”

Ask:

“How much income will I need, where will it come from, and how long can it last?”

Turning Your Wealth Into Retirement Income

In my Kueh Lapis Retirement™ Framework, I organise retirement resources into three layers.

#1. Guaranteed Income

This layer covers basic and essential expenses. It may include CPF LIFE, annuity payouts and other dependable sources of income.

The objective is to ensure that food, utilities, transport and other basic needs do not depend entirely on stock-market performance.

#2. Variable Income

This layer supports your desired lifestyle. It may come from a diversified portfolio of bonds, equities, funds and other investments.

The income and portfolio value may fluctuate, but this layer provides flexibility and long-term growth potential. It can help fund dining, hobbies, family activities and other lifestyle expenses.

#3. Bonus Income

This layer supports aspirations beyond your regular lifestyle. It may fund travel, major purchases, gifts to children, legacy planning and other goals.

Because your essential expenses are supported by the first layer, this portion may be invested with a longer time horizon and greater tolerance for short-term volatility.

Each layer has a different purpose.

Together, they help turn a collection of properties, CPF savings, insurance policies and investments into a coherent retirement income plan.

So, Are You Wealthier Than Other Singaporeans?

The UBS figures are interesting because they give us a sense of where Singapore stands.

But they should not become your personal scorecard.

Having more than S$681K does not automatically mean you are ready to retire. Having less does not automatically mean you are behind.

What matters is not how your net worth compares with another Singaporean.

What matters is whether your home, CPF, insurance and investments can work together to support the life you want after your salary stops.

Remember: Wealth is a number. Retirement is an income plan.