Policy benchmark
Is my insurance policy beating CPF, the S&P 500 or property?
Your policy
Compare with
Looking ahead
The same premiums, invested elsewhere
Solid: actual. Dashed: illustration.| Compared with | Value today | Return a year so far | In 2046 | Today vs policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your policy | S$62,000 | -1.09% | S$123.1K at -1.1% | — |
| CPF SA, 4% | S$83,334 | 4.00% | S$321.5K at 4.0% | +S$21,334 |
| CPF OA, 2.5% | S$76,301 | 2.50% | S$240.0K at 2.5% | +S$14,301 |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | S$155,253 | 14.29% | S$803.8K at 7.0% | +S$93,253 |
| HDB resale prices | S$88,331 | 4.98% | S$281.9K at 3.0% | +S$26,331 |
If the same S$6,000 a year had gone into the S&P 500, it would be worth S$155,253 today, S$93,253 more than your policy. Remember the policy may also carry insurance cover the others don't.
Every comparison gets the same premiums on the same dates, so the returns are money-weighted. Future years are illustrations at the rates you set, not forecasts. Past returns do not predict future returns. Property is the price index only: no rent, costs or loans, and you can't really buy property in small slices. CPF uses base rates before extra interest.
Data to Oct 2026 (property to Jun 2026), snapshot updated 2026-10-19. S&P 500: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) monthly adjusted close, dividends reinvested, converted to SGD at the monthly USD/SGD rate. Yahoo Finance. HDB resale prices: HDB Resale Price Index (1Q2009 = 100), quarterly. HDB via data.gov.sg. Private property: URA Private Residential Property Price Index, all residential (1Q2009 = 100), quarterly. URA via data.gov.sg. CPF: CPF Board: CPF interest rates from 1 October to 31 December 2026, and the 22 September 2026 floor extension. Custom stocks: Yahoo Finance, dividends included where available.
For education only. Not financial advice.
How to read the result
Technical
Every comparison gets identical cash flows, so the returns are money-weighted (internal rates of return) and directly comparable.
Plain English
It answers one question: if each premium had gone somewhere else instead, what would you have now?
Technical
Use the policy's surrender or cash value after charges, not the underlying fund's performance.
Plain English
Charges are the gap between what the fund made and what you'd actually get. That gap is the point.
Technical
Years after today are illustrations at the yearly rates you set, compounded with any premiums still due.
Plain English
The future lines show what a rate would do, not what will happen.
A worked example
S$6,000 a year from Jan 2016, S$66,000 paid in all, with a surrender value of S$62,000 in Oct 2026: a return of −1.09% a year. The same premiums at CPF's 4% would be S$83,334, tracking HDB resale prices S$88,331, and in the S&P 500 (in SGD) S$155,253.
What it can't tell you
- Past returns don't predict future returns, and the future lines are illustrations, not forecasts.
- Insurance cover has value that CPF, an index or property don't. This compares the savings part only.
- Property uses price indices only: no rent, stamp duty, loans or maintenance, and nobody buys a flat in S$6,000 slices.
- CPF uses base rates of 2.5% and 4%, before extra interest on the first S$60,000.
From the carousel: Is your ILP beating the index?
Source: S&P 500 (SPY, dividends reinvested) and USD/SGD: Yahoo Finance, monthly. Checked 19 Oct 2026.
Source: HDB Resale Price Index and URA Private Residential Property Price Index, via data.gov.sg. Checked 19 Oct 2026.
Source: CPF interest rates: CPF Board. Checked 19 Oct 2026.
For education only. Not financial advice.