Retired couple (65+): rent out the HDB flat and live in Johor
A husband and wife aged 65 and over, children grown and living elsewhere, let out the whole HDB flat and move to Johor on the MM2H SEZ route. Move the sliders to see the extra money a year compared with staying put. Estimates only, not financial, tax, immigration or medical advice.
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Adjust the numbers
Results
| Case | Saving a year | Capital tied up | Year 1 |
|---|
Cautious and optimistic are fixed stress cases, not the sliders. Cautious: tax non-resident, two vacant months, JB costs at 80%, RM2.95 per S$1, dearer medical and a RM450,000 property. Optimistic: S$3,700 rent, JB costs at 50%, RM3.30 per S$1, cheaper medical and a RM265,000 property. They exclude any large uninsured hospital bill.
Watch out
- Health: MediShield Life does not pay for treatment in Malaysia, yet the premiums (about S$1,326 a year each at 66 to 70) keep running unless you hold permanent residence abroad, which MM2H is not. MediSave works only for elective care at two hospitals, Regency in Johor and Mahkota in Melaka. [12][13][14][15]
- Benefits: moving costs about S$2,500 a year in Singapore benefits such as the GST Voucher and the MediSave top-up. [16][17]
- Visa: border runs on the 30-day social pass are for visits, not a lawful way to live there. MM2H SEZ needs a USD32,000 deposit plus a property in a designated zone, assumed at RM280,000 here. [7][8][10][11]
- Flat rules: only Singapore Citizens who own a Standard flat past its 5-year minimum occupation period may rent out the whole flat. HDB must approve each stay of 6 months to 3 years. [2][3]
- Tax: if they become Singapore tax non-residents, rent is taxed at a flat 24%, which is the cautious case here. Let out whole, the flat also pays higher property tax. [4][5][6]
Assumptions behind the numbers
- Rent S$3,500 for a 4-room [1]. One vacant month and S$1,500 of letting costs are assumptions. The flat's Annual Value scales from S$16,020 with the rent, also an assumption.
- Tax: 15% of rent deducted, net rent split between two owners at resident rates, extra property tax from IRAS tiers [4][5][6]. No mortgage is assumed.
- Living costs: S$2,349 a month for the couple, SingStat's average for retired households [19]. This figure came from search results, not the opened page. JB spending is 60% of that, an assumption.
- CPF LIFE: S$760 each, the median projected payout at 65 [18]. No car: Grab and buses at RM800 a month, an assumption.
- MM2H SEZ: USD32,000 deposit, RM1,000 plus RM5,000 plus RM2,500 for the spouse in fees, 10-year pass, RM300 renewal [7][8]. Property at RM280,000, from Forest City listings of RM255,000 to 299,000 [10]. RM450 a month upkeep and 2.5% returns are assumptions.
- Health: RM4,000 each [24] plus S$400 of treatment trips to Singapore, an assumption. Trips: 26 round trips a year for two at S$6.60 each [25] plus S$20 local transfers, an assumption.
- Room: S$1,025 a month median [21], S$500 of costs, a month vacant. Exchange rate S$1 = RM3.1757 [20]. One-off set-up costs of S$4,000 and 3% purchase costs are assumptions.
- Not modelled: a large uninsured hospital bill, one spouse passing away or needing care, property gains or losses in Malaysia, and Malaysian tax on rent.