SINGAPORE: Singapore’s planned goods and services tax (GST) hike starting next year and rising property prices were among the top concerns of investors in their 20s, according to a survey released by Singapore-based digital wealth adviser Endowus.

       The survey, which involved 680 participants across all age groups, showed that 58% of respondents between 21 and 29 were concerned over the imminent GST rate hike. Respondents in this age group were either still finishing up their education or just starting off in their careers and growing their savings and investment portfolios.

       Singapore’s GST rate will increase from 7% to 8% on Jan 1 next year, and from 8% to 9% on Jan 1, 2024.

       The move was announced during the budget debate in February.

       The policy move comes as Singapore grapples with rising inflation, which hit a 10-year high in March. This resulted in an aggressive tightening of monetary policy by the Monetary Authority of Singapore last month to cap the surge in prices.

       One of the survey participants, 21-year-old Kimberely Misson, who is currently self-employed, said that while the GST hike was something that most Singaporeans had already anticipated, the timing of its roll-out had taken some by surprise.

       “I think people were expecting a GST hike sooner or later but were caught off guard with how soon it was going to be implemented.

       “This is even more so because we’ve just come out of a pandemic and inflation is rising faster than expected, so people need time to adjust to all these things.”

       The survey also revealed that 13% of respondents aged 21 to 29 were concerned about the impact rising property prices would have on their finances.

       Another respondent, 28-year-old Kelly Lai, an accountant who started working in 2018, said the idea of buying a housing board apartment with her fiancé was something she had initially looked forward to with much excitement.

       But now the early euphoria has simmered down.

       “Now I will definitely need to adjust my lifestyle and re-look my finances to save for the additional cost of property.”

       Endowus chief executive Gregory Van said the nervous sentiments of the younger group of respondents in the survey was to be expected.

       “This group of respondents could still be early in their careers and in the last two years have felt the immense economic impact of the pandemic and more recently, the Russian-Ukraine war,” he said.

       “A GST hike could be a more tangible concern for this group because it further limits their purchasing power as items that they typically need and want will become more expensive.”

       “Rising property prices are a great concern to me as I am planning to buy a house for the first time,” said Lai, who is also making preparations for her wedding next year.

       She had initially planned to invite around 150 people for the celebrations but is now considering scaling it down to save on costs.

       Despite the uncertainty, both Lai and Misson will not be scaling back their long-term investments and may even consider setting more money aside for it.

       This was reflective of other respondents.

       The results showed that despite the uncertain global economic outlook, 79% of all the participants were planning to raise their investments, while 19% indicated they would maintain their current investment patterns.

       Just 2% indicated they would cut their investment size.

       Van noted that one way younger Singaporeans can overcome their financial concerns in the upcoming year was to improve their financial literacy to help differentiate the difference between investing and speculating.

       “Investing requires one to know how to plan for the future and make your money work towards your life goals, rather than chase markets. Investing intelligently is required to hang on to one’s purchasing power and combat uncertainties that arise from macro shocks,” he said.

       The Endowus survey was conducted between January and February 2022, with respondents coming from different age groups and backgrounds, the company said.

       Endowus has about US$1.5bil (RM6.53bil) in assets under advice as of end 2021, more than eight times when it launched in 2019; its number of clients has also grown by almost 1,000% during the same period. — The Straits Times/ANN