Gunavathi Chinasamy, a 29-year-old Malaysian, earns between S$2,500 and S$2,800 (US$1,845 to US$2,067) per month as an administrative executive at a Singapore-based employment agency. A comparable role in Malaysia would earn her about RM3,000 (US$668), she said. CNA.

Similarly, Lee Yen Nee, a 36-year-old Malaysian who works as an economics researcher in Singapore, noted that she would earn a lower salary working in her home country, which could limit her retirement choices.

“If I decide to return to Malaysia to retire“Of course, I work in Singapore. My savings in Singapore will help me,” she said. Nikkei Asia. “I might even be able to retire early.”

Like Gunavathi and Lee, many Malaysians seek employment abroad to save for their old age, and the city-state is often their first choice.

The number of job applications from Malaysians in Singapore during the period December 2023-January 2024 doubled compared to the same period in 2022-2023, AsiaOne reported, citing Linda Teo, country manager of recruitment agency ManpowerGroup Singapore.

Data from Cultivar Staffing & Search, another recruitment company, indicates that job postings in the first quarter of 2024 received up to 30% more Malaysian applicants compared to the same period last year.

Of the 1.86 million Malaysians who migrated abroad in 2022, some 1.13 million settled in the city-state, according to the Singapore News Magazine. TODAY quoted V. Sivakumar, former human resources minister of Malaysia, as saying.

One of the reasons why Malaysians base their funds in Singapore is the latter’s better retirement system.

US consultancy Mercer placed Singapore’s retirement system fifth in the world while Malaysia ranked 32nd in the Mercer CFA Institute’s Global Pension Index, which evaluates and compares 48 retirement income systems across the world on the basis of their adequacy, sustainability and integrity.

Both schemes, the city-state’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF), offer interest rates above 2%, surpassing rates offered by employee accounts. basic savings in each country.

But a recent report by the Khazanah Research Institute, a non-profit organization in Malaysia, found that more than 90% of EPF members under the age of 30 do not have sufficient savings to meet the target of basis of 240,000 ringgit upon retirement. Only 10% of members aged 30 to 54 achieved this goal, Strait Times reported.

“The EPF is not really enough,” said Chin Shyong, a 39-year-old Malaysian working in Singapore who has access to both funds. “That’s why we see that even after retirement age, many Malaysians are still working.”

Moreover, others factors that attract Malaysians to Singapore include a strong economy, higher wages and better job opportunities and a better work environment, according to recruiters.

A 2022 Malaysian government study found that two-thirds of Malaysians living and working in Singapore earn a gross monthly salary of S$1,500 to S$3,599, while 20% earn between S$3,600 and S$9,999.

Meanwhile, 65% of workers in Malaysia earn between RM3,850 and RM9,890 per month and 20% earn RM3,850 or less, according to a survey by salary comparison site Salary Explorer.

The earning capacity of the majority of Malaysia’s workforce has been diminished by slow wage growth, which has failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living, according to The star.

As a result, Malaysia has among the lowest household savings for low- and semi-skilled workers, the World Bank said.

Malaysians may seek employment overseas to save for retirement due to various factors, according to Mercer pensions head for Asia Chen Rupeng.

This is a “strategic measure aimed at improving their preparation for retirement,” she added.