Your contributions
A percentage of each pay packet goes into your SINPF account. Automatic for formal-sector workers; voluntary top-ups are allowed.
Retirement balance
Your balance at retirement is built from what you contribute, what your employer contributes, how long you stay in the Fund, and the returns earned on your savings along the way.
Three streams fill your SINPF account over your working life. Two come from you and your employer; the third is what the Fund earns on your savings. This page explains how they combine into your retirement balance.
What goes into your retirement balance. Two come from you; one is earned by the Fund.
A percentage of each pay packet goes into your SINPF account. Automatic for formal-sector workers; voluntary top-ups are allowed.
Your employer adds a matching percentage. This is money that only reaches you through the Fund.
Each year the Board sets a rate added to your balance. This compounds over time and typically becomes the largest driver of your retirement total.
An account holding SBD 10,000 at 30 June 2015, left untouched, would have grown to about SBD 18,000 by the FY2025 crediting - an average of 6.1% a year. This assumes no further contributions or withdrawals over the ten years.
The point isn't the specific numbers - it's that time in the Fund multiplies everything else. Starting earlier and leaving savings invested does more than any single year's return.
Your first contributions land in your account. The dollar amount feels small; the habit matters more than the sum.
Contributions have continued and the balance has been credited each year. Early balances are already earning on earlier earnings.
Contributions keep landing; crediting applies to every dollar that was in the account at the start of that year. Compounding is now doing more work than contributions.
Your final balance is the sum of every contribution plus every year of crediting applied to every dollar that was in the account at that point.
Crediting rates vary year to year, reflecting the Fund's investment performance in that year. The chart below groups rates into economic eras. Past performance doesn't guarantee future rates - but the long-run picture is what matters for compounding.
1998–1999 Years leading up to the Tensions.
2000–2003 Period of civil unrest; rates fell toward the statutory floor.
2004–2009 Economic recovery and major equity revaluations.
2010–2026 Current period including COVID impact and recovery.
Four levers you (and the Fund) influence - in rough order of impact.
Compounding is the single biggest multiplier. More years beats higher contributions over any realistic career length.
Voluntary top-ups materially change the retirement figure. Every extra dollar also earns the crediting rate for every year it's held.
Contributions are a percentage of pay, so a growing wage grows contributions.
The Board sets rates each year. Past performance is not a promise about the future.
Once you're eligible, accessing your balance follows a short process. Confirm the current eligibility age and documentation requirements with Member Services before applying - these can change.
The Fund's current rules define when you can access your balance (and the limited early-access scenarios: permanent emigration, disability, etc.).
Submit the withdrawal application with the required identification and supporting documents.
Member Services reviews, verifies, and finalises the payment. Processing times are published - ask when you apply.
The lump sum is paid to your nominated bank account.
The illustrations on this page are for guidance only. Past crediting rates do not guarantee future rates. For your actual balance and a personalised projection, contact Member Services.